Word Order with Direct & Indirect Objects

In this lesson you will learn where to put the direct and indirect object in a German sentence. By the time you get to the end of this lesson, you will know what direct and indirect objects are, how to use them and how to switch up the word order in your German sentences to help you become more conversational.

Background: What are direct and indirect objects? 

Let’s just jump straight to the important bit and the reason for the title of this video being what it is. In a simple German statement, you start with the subject. The verb is in second position. Then comes the indirect object followed by the direct object.

Ich gebe dem Schüler den Bleistift. -
I am giving the student the pencil.

This sentence starts with the subject, the one doing something, which is “ich” (I) and is indicated by the nominative case.

The verb is in second position, as it always is in simple sentences like this.

The indirect object is third, “dem Schüler” (the student) and is indicated by the dative case.

The direct object, “den Bleistift” (the pencil) is the last thing, which is the thing being acted upon by the subject and is indicated by the accusative case.

If you don’t know what direct and indirect objects are, the simplest explanation is this. A direct object is the thing being acted upon by the subject. If I kick, bite, hit, or throw something, that something is the direct object of the sentence. In German this is indicated with the accusative case.

When the direct object is sent in the direction of another person or thing (most often a person), that person is the indirect object. The indirect object is indicated with the dative case.

Short version: Direct object is what is being verbed. Indirect object is to whom or for whom the direct object was verbed. In German the direct object is marked by the accusative case and the indirect object is marked by the dative case.

What are nominative, accusative and dative? 

In case you are just starting your German learning journey, you may not be aware that there are 4 grammatical cases in which nouns and pronouns can be used in German. Cases help to identify how a noun is being used, which provides context and insight into the meaning of the sentence. It also makes it so that German is much more flexible when it comes to word order than other languages like English, for instance.

Word Order Rules for Direct & Indirect Objects

When it comes to direct and indirect objects, the basic rules are simple. If the direct object is a noun, it goes after the indirect object. If it is a pronoun, the accusative object goes before the indirect object.

Let’s go back to our first example.

If neither the direct nor indirect object is a pronoun, the indirect object is first.

Ich gebe dem Schüler den Bleistift. -
I am giving the student the pencil.

If only the indirect object is a pronoun, the indirect object is still first.

Ich gebe ihm den Bleistift. -
I am giving him the pencil.

If the direct object is a pronoun, regardless of whether or not the indirect object is also a pronoun, the direct object is first.

Ich gebe ihn dem Schüler. -
I am giving it (to) the student.

Ich gebe ihn ihm. -
I am giving it (to) him.

In German, all of these sentences have the same general meaning. The pencil is the thing being given and the student is the one receiving it. In English, if you rearrange the word order like this, the meaning changes.

“I am giving him it.” is VERY different than “I am giving it him.” The first one is a normal everyday sounding sentence. The word “him” refers to some masculine person and the word “it” refers to an object that is being given to him.

The second sentence is creepy at best. Pennywise is running around your town looking for his next victim. When he meets you and a friend of yours, you give your friend to Pennywise in an effort to escape. “I give it him.” sounds like you are sacrificing this person to “It”.

Accusative and Dative Pronouns

Now that you know the word order rules, let’s go back and learn the pronouns.

ich - mich - mir

“Ich” (I) becomes “mich” in the accusative and “mir” in the dative.

Ich mag ihn nicht. -
I don’t like him.

Er mag mich auch nicht. -
He doesn’t like me either.

Er kauft mir keine Geschenke. -
He isn’t buying me any gifts.

du - dich - dir

“Du” (you) becomes “dich” in the accusative and “dir” in the dative.

Kaufst du dieses T-Shirt? -
Are you buying this t-shirt?

Ich mag dieses T-Shirt für dich. -
I like this t-shirt for you.

Ich schenke es dir. -
I (will) gift it (to) you.

er - ihn - ihm

“Er” (he) becomes “ihn” in the accusative and “ihm” in the dative.

Er findet einen Hund im Wald. -
He finds a dog in the forest.

Er bringt ihn nach Hause. -
He brings him home.

Er gibt ihm Hundefutter. -
He gives him dog food.

sie - sie - ihr

“Sie” (she) stays “sie” in the accusative, but becomes “ihr” in the dative.

Sie ist schön. -
She is beautiful.

Er mag sie. -
He likes her.

Er bringt ihr einen Blumenstrauß. -
He brings her a bouquet of flowers.

es - es - ihm

When “es” is used to replace neuter nouns in the nominative and accusative cases it remains “es”, but in the dative case it becomes “ihm”.

Siehst du das da? Es ist mein neues Pferd. -
Do you see that over there? It is my new horse.

Ich habe es heute gekauft. -
I bought it today.

Ich zeige ihm den Pferdestall. -
I am showing it the stable.

wir - uns - uns

When “wir” is not the subject of the sentence (i.e. nominative), it becomes “uns”. This is true for both direct (accusative) and indirect (dative) objects.

Wir essen gerne zusammen. -
We like to eat together.

Unsere Eltern laden uns gerne ein. -
Our parents like to invite us.

Sie kochen uns jedes Mal etwas zu essen. -
They cook us something to eat every time.

ihr - euch - euch

If “ihr” is not the subject of the sentence, it becomes “euch”. This is also true for both direct (accusative) and indirect (dative) objects.

Ihr kennt mich nicht. -
You don’t know me.

Ich kenne euch nicht. -
I don’t know you.

Ich verkaufe euch trotzdem mein Auto. -
I am selling you my car in spite of that.

sie/Sie - sie/Sie - ihnen/Ihnen

Both the plural “sie” (they) and the formal “you” “Sie” stay “sie/Sie” when they are the direct object (accusative), but become “ihnen/Ihnen” when they are the indirect object (dative).

Sie können mir vertrauen. -
You can trust me.

Ich betrüge Sie nie. -
I will never betray you.

Das verspreche ich Ihnen. -
This I promise you.

For those of you who like charts, this is what the personal pronouns chart looks like for the nominative, accusative and dative cases.

If you would like to learn more about the accusative pronouns, click here. 

If you would like to learn more about the dative pronouns, click here. 

If you want to practice sentences like this on your own, you can do that with the worksheet available in my Deutschlerner Club. For every lesson on this website there are extra materials, worksheets, answer keys, mp3 downloads and more. Check it out and join the Deutschlerner Club today!