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dative construction

Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A grammatical phrase using the dative case to indicate indirect object or beneficiary

Detailed Definition
Dative constructions (“to the weary,” “for the lost”) highlight recipients of action or emotion, centering relational dynamics; in poetic diction, they often convey compassion, duty, or sacrificial offering through subtle case-based syntax.
Example
Example in poetry:
To the stranger she gave her last coin; for the river she sang her mother’s lullaby; with the wind he shared his final secret; to the child she bequeathed her unfinished map; for the dead they lit candles that never guttered.
Additional Notes
Dative constructions indicate indirect objects or beneficiaries: “To him she gave her last breath”; they personalize emotion and create intimacy; common in classical and Romantic poetry; use to show emotional transfer: “For you I left my homeland”; avoid confusion with accusative; related to genitive construction and prepositional phrase; effective in love poems and elegies where the recipient matters more than the action.
Also Known As
indirect object construction dative object Dative phrase
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