Here's a breakdown:
1. Recipient: This refers to the entity that receives something.
* Example: "John gave Mary a book." Here, "Mary" is the recipient of the book.
2. Goal: This refers to the destination or target of a movement or action.
* Example: "He walked to the store." Here, "the store" is the goal of his movement.
Key Points:
* The dative case is not limited to nouns. It can also apply to pronouns and noun phrases.
* The dative case is often marked by prepositions like "to," "for," or "at."
* In some languages, the dative case is marked by specific grammatical endings.
Examples:
* "I gave the money to my sister." ("sister" is the recipient)
* "He wrote a letter to his friend." ("friend" is the recipient)
* "They are going to the park." ("park" is the goal)
Other Cases:
Case grammar theory identifies various other cases, each marking a specific semantic role:
* Nominative: Subject of the verb (the one performing the action)
* Accusative: Direct object of the verb (the one being acted upon)
* Genitive: Possessor or modifier of a noun
* Instrumental: Tool or means used for an action
* Locative: Location or place of an action
Understanding the dative case helps us analyze sentence structure and understand the relationships between words and their meanings.