Can you explain nominative and dative to me in a simple way?

Answer by  pambam (892)

These cases are confusing for English speakers. They are much clearer in Latin! Nominative refers to the subject. In "I ate the pie" the 'I' is the subject which is nominative. Dative indicates movement - "The pie was given TO ME."

Answer by  palaeologus (564)

Nominative is used to show who or what is acting: if I say "I ran to her," "I" (used instead of "me") is nominative and "her" (used instead of "she" is accusative). Dative is generally used for recipients of actions, such as "whom" in "She gave whom the shirt?"