As is explained in introduction to verbs and indirect objects section, a verb can sometimes take an indirect object, such as I give the ball to Ági. Here, Ági is the indirect object. Another example: Adtam ezt a könyvet Áginak I gave this book to Ági.

In Hungarian the indirect object is usually placed in the dative case. Note that it's not just "to" that gets put into the dative case, as in the above example, but also "for": Veszek ajándékot Áginek I'm buying a gift for Ági

Some examples of obvious indirect objects:

• Viszek Áginak virágot I'm taking flowers to Ági
• Veszek ajándékot Áginak I'm buying a gift for Ági
• Nagymama köt pulóvert nekünk Grandma is knitting jumpers for us
• Fizetnek nekem egy sört They're buying me a beer

Some examples of less obvious indirect objects, where a "to" or "for" might sound unnatural in English:

• a magyar lány nekem tetszik I like the Hungarian girl. Literally, "the Hungarian girl pleases me" or "The Hungarian girl is pleasing to me".
• a magyar lányok nekem tetszenek I like Hungarian girls. Plural of the above. Literally, "Hungarian girls please me" or "Hungarian girls are pleasing to me".
• segítesz apunak? do you help (to) Dad?
• telefonálok Áginak I telephone (to) Ági
• örülök annak I'm glad about that (for that)
• nekem fáj a fejem my head hurts (to me). I have a headache.
• minden nap köszönök a postásnak every day I greet (to) the doorman.

The possessive ending given in the possession section can be thought of as a kind of short-hand version.

The long version includes the date ending on the possessor, the article, and the possessed object marked as normal.

• Ez Ági kutyája This is Ági's dog. (short)
• Ez Áginak a kutyája This is Ági's dog. (long)

The long form is optional except where the possessor is also possessed, in which case we must use the long version.

• a barátom my friend
• a barátomnak a macskája my friend's cat (the friend own the cat, but he's my friend.
• Compare to: a barát macskája the friend's cat. No information about whose friend.

• a szüleim my parents
• A szüleimnek a háza My parents' house (the parents own the house, but the parents are my parents. N.B. ház is in singular possessive, not házuk!

As you will see on the possession pages, the dative is used to show, for example, that they have a dog:

• házuk their house
• házuk van they have a house
• nekik házuk van they have a house

An interesting use of the dative comes when stating how someone is called (not what someone's name is, but what they are called). It's a little confusing because often the direct object is omitted (and the subject too).

When we say they call her Ági, the direct object is "her" and the indirect object is "Ági". This is translated as: hívják Áginak (they) call (her) Ági, in which the object (her) and the subject (they) have both been dropped. You could think of it as Ők hívják őt Áginak they call her Ági.

Note that we have used the definite conjugation here, because the object is "her". This requires the definite. If, on the other hand, the object was "me" or "you", we must use the indefinite conjugation.
This looks like: hívnak (engem) Danielnek they call me Daniel.

Both "Áginak" and "Danielnek" show the dative case, but note how we use a different conjugation depending on the (implied) object.

As a question, remember to put a suggested answer into the dative case too: hogy hívnak? Danielnek? What are you called? Daniel? .