German · A2 · Family moment
Share Project Materials in German
Use these friendly phrases to help your child share project materials and ideas. With geben (give), zeigen (show) and leihen (lend), the recipient takes the dative case, and the thing takes the accusative case.
What you'll learn
- Ask your child to share materials and show their work.
- Use dative noun forms such as deinem Freund, der Lehrerin and dem Mädchen.
- Use dative pronouns such as mir, dir, ihm, ihr and uns.
- Build simple requests with kannst du and bitte.
German phrases for share project materials
Kannst du deinem Freund den blauen Stift geben?
Can you give your friend the blue pen?
Deinem Freund is the dative recipient. For a female friend, use deiner Freundin. Den blauen Stift is the accusative object.
Ich gebe dir die Projektmappe.
I'll give you the project folder.
Dir is the dative form of du. German often uses the present tense for an immediate offer.
Bitte zeig der Lehrerin dein Plakat.
Please show the teacher your poster.
Der Lehrerin means 'to the female teacher.' For a male teacher, use dem Lehrer. Zeig is an informal command to one person.
Kannst du mir deine Zeichnung zeigen?
Can you show me your drawing?
Mir means 'me' as the recipient. With kannst, zeigen goes at the end.
Wir können dem Mädchen unser Lineal leihen.
We can lend the girl our ruler.
Mädchen is grammatically neuter: das Mädchen becomes dem Mädchen in the dative.
Ich leihe ihm meinen Taschenrechner.
I'll lend him my calculator.
Ihm means 'him' as the recipient. Meinen Taschenrechner is accusative because it is the thing being lent.
Bitte gib ihr den Kleber.
Please give her the glue.
Gib is the informal singular command form of geben. Ihr means 'her' as the recipient.
Kannst du uns dein Modell zeigen?
Can you show us your model?
Uns means 'us' as the recipient. Dein Modell is the thing being shown.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Stift
pen; writing or drawing tool
A common general word. Use der Kugelschreiber for a ballpoint pen specifically.
die Projektmappe
project folder
A folder for keeping project work together.
das Plakat
poster
Suitable for a school project poster.
die Zeichnung
drawing
Related to zeichnen, meaning 'to draw.'
das Lineal
ruler
The plural is die Lineale.
der Taschenrechner
calculator
A handheld calculator.
der Kleber
glue
For a glue stick, use der Klebestift.
das Modell
model
Here, a physical model made for a project.
Dative recipients: noun articles
The recipient answers 'to whom?' With these verbs, use the dative for the person receiving or seeing something. A noun's grammatical gender determines its article.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine: der → dem | der Freund → dem Freund; dein Freund → deinem Freund | Gib deinem Freund den Stift. |
| Feminine: die → der | die Lehrerin → der Lehrerin | Zeig der Lehrerin dein Plakat. |
| Neuter: das → dem | das Mädchen → dem Mädchen | Wir leihen dem Mädchen unser Lineal. |
| Plural: die → den | die Kinder → den Kindern | Wir zeigen den Kindern das Modell. |
Dative personal pronouns
Use these pronouns instead of naming the recipient.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| me | ich → mir | Zeig mir deine Zeichnung. |
| you: one person, informal | du → dir | Ich gebe dir die Projektmappe. |
| him | er → ihm | Ich leihe ihm meinen Taschenrechner. |
| her | sie → ihr | Gib ihr den Kleber. |
| us | wir → uns | Zeig uns dein Modell. |
Sentence patterns for sharing
In these phrases, put the recipient before the thing. With können, the main verb goes at the end. For a direct request to your child, use bitte with gib or zeig.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | Subject + verb + dative recipient + accusative thing | Ich gebe dir die Mappe. |
| Question with können | Kannst du + recipient + thing + infinitive? | Kannst du mir das Lineal leihen? |
| Direct request | Bitte + command + recipient + thing | Bitte gib ihr den Stift. |
More examples
Kannst du deiner Freundin den Kleber geben?
Can you give your friend the glue?
Deiner Freundin is the dative form for a female friend.
Ich zeige dir mein Modell.
I'll show you my model.
Dir is the recipient; mein Modell is the thing being shown.
Wir leihen ihm unser Lineal.
We'll lend him our ruler.
Use ihm for a male recipient.