This case marker is used when a verb has a noun toward which motion is expressed; it is used to indicate possession (expressed in many other languages by a verb meaning `have'), and is also used to indicate which thing or person is the indirect object or benefactor of some act. Finally it is used with certain stative and/or defective verbs (i.e. verbs which cannot be marked for PNG except 3rd person neuter, cf. 3.80) to indicate who or what is the subject.
Thus to indicate possession, Tamil uses a dative case and the verb Éç iru `be (located)':
To indicate subject-hood of various stative verbs such as `like' ½ÕÜ pidi, `know' ×»ÀÕ teri, `understand' äÀÕ puri, `be available' ×´×¹ kede, `want' ØÂᣠveenum, etc. the dative case is attached to the subject and the stative verb appears in the third person singular (3psg).
