Explanation
German has four grammatical cases. A noun’s case tells you its role in the sentence — who is doing the action, who is receiving it, and so on. The case determines the form of the article that goes with the noun.
For the full article ending tables, see Declensions.
The Four Cases at a Glance
| Case | Role | Question to ask | Key change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Subject — who is doing it | Wer? Was? (Who? What?) | Base form — no change |
| Accusative | Direct object — what is acted on | Wen? Was? (Whom? What?) | Masculine: der → den, ein → einen |
| Dative | Indirect object — to/for whom | Wem? (To whom?) | All change; feminine: die → der |
| Genitive | Possession — whose | Wessen? (Whose?) | des/eines + noun gets -s/-es |
Prepositions by Case
Always accusative: durch (through), für (for), gegen (against), ohne (without), um (around)
Always dative: aus (from/out of), bei (at/near), mit (with), nach (after/to), seit (since), von (from/of), zu (to), gegenüber (opposite)
Two-way (accusative = movement toward, dative = location): an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen
Ich gehe in die Stadt. — I’m going into the city. (accusative — direction) Ich bin in der Stadt. — I’m in the city. (dative — location)
Examples in Context
| Sentence | Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Der Hund bellt. | Nominative | der Hund is the subject |
| Ich sehe den Hund. | Accusative | den Hund is the direct object |
| Ich gebe dem Hund Wasser. | Dative | dem Hund is the indirect object (given to) |
| Das ist das Halsband des Hundes. | Genitive | des Hundes shows possession |
Related Vocabulary
- der Hund — appears in all four cases in the examples above
- die Stadt — in die Stadt (acc.) vs. in der Stadt (dat.)
- die Arbeit — zur Arbeit = zu der Arbeit (dative contraction)
Notes
- Genitive is rare in spoken German — von + dative is often used instead: das Halsband von dem Hund
- The two-way prepositions are one of the most important A2 patterns to internalise — movement vs. location
- See Declensions for the complete article ending grid across all cases and genders
Resources
- How to use Nominativ Akkusativ & Dativ - Lets analyze a German text together — YourGermanTeacher · all three cases analyzed together in a real German text
- German Cases — wiki synthesis of the full case system