The dative with “special verbs” – arguably the vaguest grammatical term in existence!
A number of verbs in Latin are followed by the dative case even though, in English, that isn’t obvious.
Take a look at these two simple sentences in English:
I eat a pizza i.e. subject – verb – direct object; you are doing something to the pizza i.e. it is being affected by you
I envy you i.e. subject – verb – direct object; English would analyse this sentence in exactly the same way as it would the first sentence.
But, pause for a moment, nothing is happening to the person in the second sentence and we could change it to: I am envious of you i.e. I experience envy and you happen to be the person who is receiving that envy, you are the indirect object of the envy which I am giving / showing to you.
These “special verbs” fall into that category:
“In each case the dative indirect object is the person or thing to which a benefit, injury, or feeling is directed” (Dooge)
These verbs can have other meanings and, depending on that meaning, may not always take the dative but, again, this is something to be aware of.
Below is a list of verbs that can be followed by the dative. The list is not exhaustive.
Notice how, when English reworks these concepts by using primarly nouns, the indirect nature of the action is conveyed even if the verb equivalents do not.
[1] imperō, imperāre, imperāvī [1]: command; order (give a command / order to)
servus, -ī [2/m]: slave
mīles, mīlitis [3/m]: soldier
exercitus, -ūs [4/m]: army
- servō dominus imperāvit │ the master ordered the slave (the master gave an order to the slave)
- servīs dominī imperāvērunt │ the masters ordered the slaves (the masters gave orders to the slaves)
- dux mīlitī imperāvit │ the commander ordered the soldier
- dux mīlitibus imperāvit │the commander ordered the soldiers
- exercituī imperāvit │ he commanded the army (he gave an order to the army)
[2] faveō, favēre, fāvī [2]: favour (show favour to); support
candidātus, -ī [2/m]: candidate
rēgīna, -ae [1/f]: queen
rēx, rēgis [3/m]: king
- candidātō nōn favēmus │ we do not support / are not in favour of the candidate
- cīvēs rēgīnae favēbant │ the citizens favoured / suppported / showed favour to the queen
- cīvēs rēgī favēbunt │ the citizens will favour the king
[3] invideō, invidēre, invīdī [2]: envy (show envy to)
[4] noceō, nocēre, nocuī [2]: injure (do harm to)
[5] pāreō, pārēre, pāruī [2] obey (give obedience to)
[6] persuādeō, persuādēre, persuāsī [2]: (literally: to make sweet / agreeable to); persuade (offer persuasion to)
[7] studeō, studēre, studuī [2]: be eager for (give attention to; to dedicate oneself to)
One of these came up at a very early stage in the group:
[8] placeō, placēre, placuī [2]: to please (be pleasing to)
From the remarkably well preserved Roman author, David Amster in AD2024:
- Quod genus librōrum vōbīs praecipuē placet? │ What type of books do you like [literally: What types of books is pleasing to you?]
And the opposite:
[9] displiceō, displicēre, displicuī [2]: to displease (be displeasing to)
[10] cōnfīdo, cōnfīdere, confīsus sum [3/semi-deponent*]: confide in (somebody)
From Pseudolus (“The Cheat”) by Plautus (191BC):
- Nōn cōnfīdit sȳcophanta hic nūgīs │ This swindler doesn’t rely on nonsense (jokes, trifles)
[11] diffīdō, diffīdere, diffīsus sum [3/semi-deponent*]: distrust (be distrustful of)
[12] fīdō, fīdere, fīsus sum [3/semi-deponent*]: trust (place confidence in; rely upon)
[13] ignōscō, ignōscere, ignōvī [3]: forgive (give pardon to)
[14] īrāscor, īrāscī, īrātus sum [3/deponent]: be angry (show anger towards)
[15] parcō, parcere, pepercī (or parsī) [3]: spare (have mercy for; be lenient to)
[16] resistō, resistere, restitī [3]: resist (offer resistance to)
[17] serviō, servīre, servīvī [4]: be a slave (to); serve
*see: [link]
[18] nūbō, nūbere, nūpsī [3]: (of a woman) to marry (get married to) a man; note: men also married women in Ancient Rome but they didn’t use a special verb!
- Rēx ancillam in mātrimōnium dūxit. │ The king married the maidservant (literally: the king led the maidservant into marriage)
[19] crēdō, crēdere, crēdidī [3]: believe (give belief to); the German verb glauben and the Russian verb verit’ (believe) can also be followed by the dative case
I don’t believe you ¦ tibi nōn crēdō ¦ Russ: ya tebe ne verju (and you can see that common Indo-European origin which goes way back before Latin)
This verb is a good example of where, depending on context and precise meaning, the dative may not always be used:
Crēdō in ūnum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factōrem caelī et terrae, vīsibilium omnium et invīsibilium. │I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible i.e. the verb is not stating that you believe what a person is saying, but rather it is expressing belief in the existence of something.
