Dativ — the receiver case

The Dativ marks the receiver — Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch — and position after two-way prepositions: Ich bin in der Stadt (wo? → dative). Forms: dem (m), der (f), dem (n), den (+-n) (pl); pronouns mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch, ihnen.

The trap is the verb class that takes dative against English intuition: helfen, danken, folgen, gefallen, passen, gehören, antworten — Ich helfe dir, never ~~dich~~. Verbs are stored with their case** as one unit; the storage rule that ends the deliberation. Full treatment in the A2 grammar guide.