To help remember the dative prepositions, sing them to the first two lines of the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas. Remember that King Wenceslas first set out on the ‘date’ (= dative ...

Otherwise, they take the dative. Ich stecke die Schuhe unter das Bett. – I put the shoes under the bed. Die Schuhe sind unter dem Bett. – The shoes are under the bed. In the first sentence ...