Following up on last week's lesson on accusative contractions, we will now look at dative contractions. Unlike accusative contractions, which are generally possible with neuter nouns, dative contractions tend to occur before both neuter and masculine nouns. Some dative contractions are used constantly in the German language, even as part of formal writing:

Die Bilder vom Kirchturm landeten am nächsten Tag in den „Tagesthemen“.

The images of the church tower landed on "Tagesthemen" the next day.

Caption 11, 30 Jahre Mauerfall Deutschland: 30 Jahre nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer

 Play Caption

Innsbruck ist die Landeshauptstadt vom Bundesland Tirol.

Innsbruck is the capital of the state of Tyrol.

Caption 18, 48 h in Innsbruck: Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps

 Play Caption

banner6 PLACEHOLDER

Was sagst du beim Arzt am Empfang zuerst?

What do you say first at the doctor's reception?

Caption 47, Deutsch für Anfänger: #8 Beim Arzt

 Play Caption

Im Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie in Mainz wird seit über hundertsiebzig Jahren geforscht.

At the Leibniz Center for Archaeology in Mainz  research has been conducted for over one hundred and seventy years.

Captions 1-2, Archäologie: Der Fund der Frankfurter Silberinschrift

 Play Caption

A few contractions are more colloquial. For the two examples below, you might also say or write vor dem ("in front of the") or unter dem ("under the"):

Und wie fühlst du dich so kurz vorm Sprung?

How do you feel right before the jump?

Caption 41, Abenteuer und Sport: Fallschirmspringen

 Play Caption

Sie liegt verborgen unterm Eis... inmitten fantastischer Höhlen.

It lies hidden beneath the ice... amidst fantastic caves.

Caption 6, Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten

 Play Caption

Finally, the preposition zu, which is always followed by the dative case, can form dative contractions before any noun, whether it's masculine, feminine, or neuter. 

Sabine geht nicht zur Party.

Sabine isn't going to the party.

Caption 36, Deutsch mit Eylin: Verneinungen

 Play Caption

Wie komme ich von hier zum Hauptbahnhof?

"How do I get from here to the main train station?

Caption 66, Deutsch mit Eylin: Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel in Hamburg

 Play Caption

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

Further Learning
Using masculine nouns and dative or two-way prepositions, create your own sentences, or look for additional examples of contractions in use on Yabla German.

Both of the words above mean "both," but it's important to use them in the correct contexts and with the correct grammar. 

banner5 PLACEHOLDER

The word beide is plural and often refers to people. It can be used as a pronoun...

Beide sind jetzt vier Stunden und sieben Minuten unterwegs.

Both have now been traveling for four hours and seven minutes.

Caption 31, Galileo Zug vs. Flugzeug: Von München nach Berlin

 Play Caption

Beide haben sich entsprechend dazu geäußert.

Both have commented on it.

Caption 49, Archäologie: Der Fund der Frankfurter Silberinschrift

 Play Caption

or as a determiner:

Gut, wenn das jetzt beide Spieler wirklich genauso machen, dann kommt so ein furchtbar langweiliges, symmetrisches Brett dabei raus.

OK, if both players really do the same thing, then you end up with a terribly boring, symmetrical board.

Captions 18-19, Schach: Regeln, Strategie und Taktik

 Play Caption

The phrase wir beide can be translated as "we both," but also "the two of us."

Und ja, wir beide werden uns nie wieder sehen.

And yes, the two of us will never see each other again.

Caption 19, Cro: Bye Bye

 Play Caption

Here are a few more examples with beide as a determiner in sentences that don't refer to people:

Und das gilt für beide Seiten gleichermaßen.

And that applies to both sides equally.

Caption 25, Brexit-Votum: Merkel warnt vor Spaltung Europas

 Play Caption

Beide Sätze sind im Perfekt.

Both sentences are in the perfect tense.

Caption 22, Deutsch mit Eylin: Das Perfekt

 Play Caption

Although beides refers to two things, it is grammatically singular and neuter, and takes the third person singular form. And it should not be used to refer to people, nor as a determiner. In the sentences below, beides refers to two words, two tasks, and two continents respectively.

Weißt du, „Möhre“, „Karotte“, das ist beides richtig. -Mhm.

You know, "carrot," "carrot," both are correct. -Mm-hm.

Caption 23, Mein Weg nach Deutschland: Bei der Arbeit

 Play Caption

Mit Emotionen oder technischen Problemen umgehen: Man muss beides können.

Dealing with emotions or technical problems: You have to be able to do both.

Captions 8-9, Galileo: So hart ist der Job im Callcenter

 Play Caption

Und es ist beides total unterschiedlich, aber super...

And both are totally different but great...

Caption 44, Anna: Am Strand in Mexiko

 Play Caption

Further Learning
You can find more examples with beide and beides on Yabla German.