In essence, the dative case shows a person or thing — usually a person — who has a vested interest in the outcome of the action of the verb in a sentence; someone who stands to gain or lose, is benefited, harmed, or otherwise indirectly affected. It can pop up in some fairly unexpected places. Sometimes it translates easily, other times it defies translation altogether. Either way, the dative case is a peculiarity of Latin that adds a dash of flavor to the language.

Indirect Object

In addition to a direct object, some verbs take what is called an indirect object. An indirect object is a sort of secondary object. In Latin, indirect objects are put into the dative case. The verbs that usually have a dative indirect object are ones of:

• saying: Imperā tor rem senā toribus explicā vit. (The emperor explained the situation to the senators.)

• showing: Imperā tor rem senā toribus monstrā vit. (The emperor showed the senators the problem.)

• giving: Senā torē s consilium imperā torī dedē runt. (The senators gave the emperor advice.)

• entrusting: Senā torēs rem imperā torī mandā vē runt. (The senators entrusted the matter to the emperor.)

In any of these examples, the dative indirect object could be left out and the sentence would continue to function. Although the sentences could work grammatically, they would still be crying for a little more information. “The emperor explained the situation …” to whom? Who cared? The senators did. “The senators gave advice …” to whom? Who stood to gain or lose from this advice? The emperor did.

Dative of Possession

Isn't it the genitive case that shows possession? Well, yes, but the dative can also under certain conditions, the principal one being that the main verb of the sentence is a form of the verb “to be.” The “dative of possession” is actually more of a “dative of reference.”

It's just easier to say:

That woman's name was Tanaquil.

Body parts and other personal effects often use the dative of possession instead of a genitive. For example: Dominus caput servī percussit literally means “The master hit the head with reference to the slave” meaning “The master hit the slave on the head.” Obviously this was to the slave's disadvantage, so a dative works best in this sentence.

Dative with Adjectives

Certain adjectives take the dative case in Latin. They are easy to understand because they use a dative sort of construction in English, too.

Dative with Intransitive Verbs

There are two kinds of verbs, transitive and intransitive. Transitive verbs show a subject performing an action directly on an object. Not only can they take a direct object, but they must have one to form a complete thought. Intransitive verbs show states of being or motion from place to place. They cannot have a direct object.

This distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs becomes extremely important when studying Latin. There are some verbs that are transitive in English but intransitive in Latin. The objects intransitive verbs take in Latin are dative rather than accusative.

It can be hard to understand how this can be true. The secret behind this mystery lies in what the verbs actually mean. For instance, the Latin verb for “obey” is pā reī. It takes a dative object because it really means “to be obedient.” The sentence Publius patrī suī pā rē bat translates literally as “Publius used to be obedient to his father.” The English verb “obey” is transitive, so you would expect an accusative object. Its Latin counterpart, however, is intransitive, so its object becomes a matter of reference: “Publius used to be obedient with reference to his father.” It sounds much less awkward in English to treat the Latin as if it were transitive and say “Publius used to obey his father.”