Understanding this grammar rule will ensure you use the correct case with each of these two-way prepositions.

Ist es unter der Platte? - Is it under the plate?.

When a static verb is used, like sein (to be) or arbeiten (to work) and the preposition refers to a location, you must use the dative case.

Wir gehen heute in die Schule - We are going to school today.

When you use a verb of movement, such as gehen (to go) or laufen (to run), and the preposition refers to a destination, you must use the accusative case. It means 'from' and traditionally indicated nobility, like the English 'of'.įor instance, Anne of Cleves (Anna von Kleve, in German). You might recognise the dative preposition ' von' from German surnames.

Wir haben einen Brief von ihnen bekommen - We got a letter from them.

Sie kommt aus der Türkei - She comes from Turkey.

These, too, are different across the German cases. See the section on personal pronouns below. 'Him' ( ihm) is the indirect object of this sentence.

Sie kauft ihm ein Geschenk - She gives him a present.

The man is the indirect object of this sentence in the dative case, so ' der Mann' becomes ' dem Mann'.

Ich gebe dem Mann ein Buch - I give the man a book.

Some people find the dative endings challenging, however, the masculine and neuter articles are the same, which helps. The dative plural form has an ' n' ending. This is the first time we have seen the definite article change for plural nouns.

Feminine 'to the'/ 'to a' - de r/ eine r.

Masculine 'to the'/ 'to a' - de m/ eine m.

As long as you use the correct case, the meaning is clear.Īrticles in the dative case look like this: The dative case describes the indirect object of a sentence, which usually receives an action from the direct object (in the accusative case).Īs with the accusative case, word order in the dative case is flexible.

Wir hüpfen um einen Baum herum- We skip around a tree.

Ich laufe durch den Park - I run through the park.

So, when you use one of these prepositions, the noun's article must also be in the accusative case. The dog is the direct object of this sentence in the accusative case (' den Hund'). If you want to say “the cat loves the dog”, you would say: The dog is the subject of this sentence in the nominative case (' der Hund'), regardless of the word order.

Der Hund liebt die Katze = Die Katze liebt der Hund.However, in German, we can switch the nouns and it will still mean 'the dog loves the cat'. In English, this is determined by the word order.įor example, in English 'the dog loves the cat' has a different meaning than 'the cat loves the dog'. This is because the case will determine which noun is the subject and which is the direct object. Therefore, it takes the article einen in this sentence (or den for 'the').ĭirect objects work slightly different in German than in English, in that they can move around the verb and still mean the same thing. It is a singular and masculine noun and is in the accusative case.

The apple (' den Apfel') is the direct object.

The apple is the thing that the subject acts upon. In the sentence 'the child eats an apple', the child is the subject and the apple is the direct object. Only the masculine articles change in the accusative case, while all other articles remain the same: The accusative case, or what is called the objective case in English, describes the direct object of a sentence (the thing the subject acts upon). While masculine and neuter nouns both use “ein” in the nominative case, and feminine and plural nouns both use “die”, you will be able to differentiate the meaning from the noun endings.

Ein/ Das Haus ist in Berlin - A/ the house is in Berlin.

Ein/ Der Mann arbeitet im Laden - A/ the man works in the store.

The woman (' die Frau') is the subject of this sentence in the nominative case.

Eine/ Die Frau lebt in Deutschland - A/ the woman lives in Germany.

Look at the following examples sentences: When using the nominative case, the subject of the sentence, such as the woman ( die Frau), the man ( der Mann) or the house ( das Haus), takes the article of the correct gender as it appears in the nominative case. Remember that articles change as we move through the German cases. There is no plural nominative indefinite article listed, as we do not say 'a puppies', for example. Indefinite articles, the 'ein' words, translate to 'a(n)'. The definite and indefinite articles in the nominative case are in their most basic form:ĭefinite articles translate as 'the' ('der', 'die' and 'das'). The German nominative case describes the subject of a sentence, which is the person or thing performing the action of the verb.

German grammar app