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Latin grammar Part of Chapter 5

CEFR A2-B1

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Test yourself (18 questions)

The Latin Genitive and Dative in Practice

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

The genitive ties a noun to another noun: of, or English 's. The dative ties a person to the verb: to or for, the one the action reaches. Between them they do the work English spreads across of, 's, to, for and a shelf of verbs.

genitivedativeWhat do the colours mean?
JobLatinEnglish
whose the king's book
part of a whole part of the soldiers
given to .I give the book to the king.
the owner .I have a book.
after a verb .I trust God.

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

One noun is in the wrong case. Tap it.

The first two are genitive, the last three dative. A quick test: delete the verb. still holds together; is left waiting for something to happen to the king.

The forms, in one place

Singular:

DeclensionGenitiveDative
1st,
2nd,
2nd n,
3rd,
4th,
5th,

Plural:

DeclensionGenitiveDative
1st,
2nd,
2nd n,
3rd,
4th,
5th,

Two things cause most of the trouble. The dative plural is always identical to the ablative plural, in every declension. And is genitive singular, dative singular and nominative plural at once: one form, three jobs.

The genitive glues noun to noun

A genitive belongs to another noun, usually right beside it, before or after. Find that noun first.

Possession and belonging:

  • - the son of God
  • , - Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world (the Mass)

The whole that a part comes from (the partitive):

  • - part of the soldiers
  • - none of us

Latin takes this further than English. Neuter words of quantity take a genitive where English uses a plain adjective or nothing at all:

Quantity wordLatinEnglish
nothing new
enough money
a lot of wine
?What's new?

Description, a genitive with an adjective, says what sort of person someone is:

  • - a man of great courage

The adjective carries the description, so it cannot be dropped: on its own is not idiomatic.

Subjective or objective: can be the love God has or the love directed at God. Latin does not choose for you:

  • - the enemy's fear, or fear of the enemy

Christian writers sometimes play on both readings. Read both, and take the one the passage supports.

The dative: the person the action reaches

nominativeaccusativegenitivedativeWhat do the colours mean?

Not the thing acted on, which is accusative, but the person on the receiving end or with a stake in it.

Indirect object, with verbs of giving, telling, sending and showing:

One person holds out a smiling book towards a second person, who reaches out happily to take it; a curved arrow with a heart runs from the giver to the receiver.

Puer puellae librum dat: the boy gives the girl a book. The giver is nominative, the book accusative, the girl, who receives it, dative.

  • . - I give the book to the king.
  • . - He spoke words to the soldiers.
  • Dona . - Give us peace. (the end of the )
  • . - Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

, , , and all take the thing in the accusative and the person in the dative.

The owner: the dative of possession.

I have a book, said the other way round: there is a book to me
  • . - I have a book.
  • Marcus. - My name is Marcus.

It is as ordinary as . The difference is emphasis: puts the owner first, the thing owned, which is why names are given this way.

A woman with long hair and a bow stands on the grass holding an open green umbrella over her head and a dog on a red lead; a red car is parked behind her.

Femina is the woman; canis feminae (genitive) is the woman's dog. Latin can also say feminae est canis (dative): the woman has a dog.

Verbs that take the dative

accusativedativeWhat do the colours mean?

These verbs are taught as a list of exceptions, but they make sense once you see them the Latin way: they are intransitive, and the person is someone the action is directed to. Only the English translation is transitive.

LatinEnglishLiterally
trust, believeput faith in someone
pareoobeybe obedient to someone
pleasebe pleasing to someone
servebe a servant to someone
noceoharmdo harm to someone
faveofavourbe favourable to someone
persuadeopersuademake it convincing to someone
imperocommandgive orders to someone
  • . - I trust God.
  • paremus. - We obey the king.
  • . - The girl pleases her father.
  • imperat. - He gives orders to the soldiers.

splits: the person trusted is dative, the thing believed accusative, and both can appear at once.

  • . - I believe you about this.

Church Latin adds a third shape. The Creed opens , I believe in one God, with and the accusative for faith in someone. That is correct Church Latin, modelled on the Greek of the New Testament; it is just not how Cicero put it.

Some adjectives take the dative in the same way:

  • - like his father
  • - a match for the king

Telling them apart at speed

EndingCould beSettle it by
-ae (1st)gen sg, sg, nom plits neighbour: noun, verb, subject
-i (2nd)gen sg (), nom plthe verb's number
- (2nd)dat sg (), abl sga preposition, or its absence
- (pl) pl, abl pla preposition, or its absence

The third declension is kinder: (of the king) and (to the king) never collide.

When an -ae or -i form appears, ask what it stands next to. Hard against another noun, it is a genitive. Near a verb of giving, obeying or pleasing, it is a dative.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
. .I trust God: takes the dative
paremus. paremus.we obey: pareo takes the dative
. .the owner is dative

What to do next

  1. Learn the five jobs in the first table until you can give an example of each.
  2. Run the drill below: build the forms, then sort them by job.
  3. Then meet the ablative and its many jobs, the case that does everything else.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/4

Build the form the English asks for.

  1. of the king (rex, regis)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. to the king

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. of the soldiers (miles, militis)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. to the masters (dominus)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/6

Which case does each phrase use?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/3

One noun is in the wrong case. Tap it.

Pick the right one

0/5

Which use of the case is this?

  1. liber regis

  2. pars militum

  3. Regi librum do.

  4. Est mihi liber.

  5. Deo credo.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the genitive and the dative in Latin?
The genitive attaches one noun to another noun: , the king's book, where says whose the book is. The dative attaches a person to the verb: do, I give the book to the king, where is the one on the receiving end. Test it by deleting the verb. survives on its own; is left waiting for something to be done to or for the king.
What is the partitive genitive in Latin?
The genitive of the whole that something is part of: , part of the soldiers; , none of us. It goes further than English after neuter words of quantity such as , and , which take a genitive where English uses an adjective or nothing: is nothing new, literally nothing of new, and is enough money.
Which Latin verbs take the dative?
The common ones are (trust, believe), pareo (obey), (please), (serve), noceo (harm), faveo (favour), persuadeo (persuade), impero (command), resisto (resist), (forgive) and studeo (be keen on). In Latin they are intransitive, and the person is someone the action is directed at: , I trust God; paremus, we obey the king. Putting either noun in the accusative is a mistake.
How do you say I have something in Latin without using ?
With the dative of possession: , literally there is a book to me, meaning I have a book. It is common, and it shifts the emphasis: stresses the owner, the thing owned. It is the normal way to give a name: Marcus, my name is Marcus.
Why can mean three different things?
Because the first declension uses one ending for three slots: is the genitive singular (of the girl), the dative singular (to or for the girl) and the nominative plural (the girls). Look at its neighbours. Beside another noun it is a genitive; beside a verb of giving or telling it is a dative; as the subject of a plural verb it is nominative plural.