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I.e. "Warnung vor dem Hunde"

Why is it not just "dem Hund" ?

Basicly it's a normal whom question, isn't it?

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    This is an old declination of Hund. You can use dem Hund, too. – clemens Dec 18 '17 at 11:27
  • but is there a rule of thumb on when this is used? i can imagine that it sounds more respektfull to someone who is reading the said sign –  Dec 18 '17 at 11:31
  • You may use both forms. The e-form is outdated and sounds a little bit strange although it's still in use on the signs. – clemens Dec 18 '17 at 11:43
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    Related: https://german.stackexchange.com/questions/17381/is-it-still-considered-correct-to-append-an-e-in-old-fashioned-dative and https://german.stackexchange.com/questions/29683/im-herbst-im-herbste-reasons-to-use-the-old-dative-ending – Takkat Dec 18 '17 at 12:27
  • Related: https://german.stackexchange.com/questions/39211/why-is-the-dative-e-not-used-in-zu-hans-haus – Christian Geiselmann Dec 18 '17 at 15:27

1 Answers1

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This -e is now archaic and almost not used except some set phrases (zu Hause, in diesem Sinne, im Jahre so-und-so) but this form was normal earlier.

You can read a little about it on English Wikipedia and much more on German - Dativ-e.

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