Using the dative with location

To say where you did work experience or volunteer work, you need to use the to explain where something took place. The dative makes the German words for the definite article ('the') or the indefinite article ('a') change.

In the following examples, you need to use the correct form of 'a', eg

I did my work experience in a school.
I did my work experience in a shop.

This is when it's important to know the of each word. Is it masculine, feminine or neuter?

So, if you want to say that you did your work experience at a school, you need to check the gender of the word 'school' – Schule.

Like many German words that end in -e, Schule is feminine, so you need to find the dative form of 'a' for feminine words. If you check the table below, you will see that the word you need is einer:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ein	eine	ein
Dative	einem	einer	einem

Case	Nominative
Masculine	ein
Feminine	eine
Neuter	ein

Case	Dative
Masculine	einem
Feminine	einer
Neuter	einem

So your finished sentence will be:

Ich habe mein Arbeitspraktikum an einer Schule gemacht. - I did my work experience at a school.

You could also use the word in, which again shows where you gained your experience, so needs to be followed by the dative case:

Ich habe mein Arbeitspraktikum in einer Schule gemacht. - I did my work experience in a school.

Question

Can you work out how you would say that you did your work experience at a doctor's practice? – die Arztpraxis

Question

Write out the German for the following sentences that show where you may have done your work experience, using the indefinite article ('a'):

I did my work experience in a hospital. (das Krankenhaus)
I did my work experience in a police station. (die Polizeiwache)
I did my work experience in a university. (die Universität)
I did my work experience in a sports shop. (das Sportgeschäft)

Look at the table below that shows the definite article forms ('the') in the dative:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	der	die	das
Dative - used to say where something is	dem	der	dem

Case	Nominative
Masculine	der
Feminine	die
Neuter	das

Case	Dative - used to say where something is
Masculine	dem
Feminine	der
Neuter	dem

Question

Now write out the German versions of the same sentences, this time using the correct form of the definite article:

I did my work experience in the hospital. (das Krankenhaus)
I did my work experience in the police station. (die Polizeiwache)
I did my work experience in the university. (die Universität)
I did my work experience in the sports shop. (das Sportgeschäft)

SchoolUsing the dative with location