Grammar Guides / German / Accusative & Dative Cases

🧩 Accusative & Dative Cases

How German marks direct objects, indirect objects, and uses prepositions

A2 10 min read 6 sections

What Cases Do

In English, word order tells you who does what: "The dog bites the man" vs. "The man bites the dog." In German, cases do this job. The case of a noun changes its article to show whether it's the subject (nominative), the direct object (accusative), or the indirect object (dative). This means German word order is more flexible, but you must get the articles right.

Role	Case	English Example	German Example
Subject (who/what does it)	Nominative	The man sees...	Der Mann sieht...
Direct object (receives the action)	Accusative	...the dog.	...den Hund.
Indirect object (to/for whom)	Dative	He gives the woman...	Er gibt der Frau...

Tip: Ask yourself: Who is doing the action? → Nominative. What/whom is the action done to? → Accusative. To/for whom? → Dative.

The Accusative Case

The accusative is used for direct objects — the person or thing directly affected by the verb. The key change: only the masculine article changes. Feminine, neuter, and plural articles stay the same as nominative.

Gender	Nominative	Accusative	Change?
Masculine	der / ein	den / einen	YES — changes!
Feminine	die / eine	die / eine	No change
Neuter	das / ein	das / ein	No change
Plural	die / —	die / —	No change

Ich sehe den Mann. Ich sehe die Frau. Ich sehe das Kind.I see the man. I see the woman. I see the child. (Only "den" changed from "der")

Tip: Good news: only masculine changes in the accusative! If you know the gender is feminine, neuter, or plural, the article stays the same as nominative.

The Dative Case

The dative is used for indirect objects (the person who receives something) and after certain prepositions. In the dative, ALL genders change their articles — not just masculine.

Gender	Nominative	Dative
Masculine	der / ein	dem / einem
Feminine	die / eine	der / einer
Neuter	das / ein	dem / einem
Plural	die	den (+ -n on noun)

Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. Ich gebe der Frau das Buch.I give the man the book. I give the woman the book.

Tip: Watch out: "der" in the dative means feminine! "Der Frau" = "to the woman." Don't confuse dative feminine "der" with nominative masculine "der."

Two-Way Prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen)

Nine prepositions can take either the accusative OR the dative, depending on meaning. Use accusative for motion/direction (Wohin? — Where to?) and dative for location/position (Wo? — Where?).

Preposition	With Accusative (motion)	With Dative (location)
in (in/into)	Ich gehe in den Park.	Ich bin in dem Park. (im Park)
auf (on/onto)	Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch.	Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.
an (at/to)	Ich gehe an das Fenster. (ans Fenster)	Ich stehe an dem Fenster. (am Fenster)
über (over/above)	Der Vogel fliegt über den See.	Die Lampe hängt über dem Tisch.
unter (under)	Die Katze kriecht unter das Bett.	Die Katze schläft unter dem Bett.
neben (next to)	Ich setze mich neben den Mann.	Ich sitze neben dem Mann.
zwischen (between)	Er stellt sich zwischen die Stühle.	Er steht zwischen den Stühlen.
vor (in front of)	Ich stelle das Auto vor das Haus.	Das Auto steht vor dem Haus.
hinter (behind)	Der Hund läuft hinter das Haus.	Der Hund ist hinter dem Haus.

Tip: The memory trick: motion = accusative, rest = dative. If something is GOING somewhere → accusative. If something IS somewhere → dative. Helpful verb pairs: stellen/stehen (put standing/stand), legen/liegen (lay/lie), setzen/sitzen (seat/sit). The first verb in each pair takes accusative (movement), the second takes dative (location).

Prepositions That Always Take Accusative

These five prepositions ALWAYS require the accusative case, regardless of motion or location. A popular mnemonic is "DODGE" — Durch, Ohne, (für), Gegen, Entlang (follows the noun).

Preposition	Meaning	Example
für	for	Das ist für den Mann. (for the man)
durch	through	Wir gehen durch den Park. (through the park)
gegen	against	Er läuft gegen den Baum. (against the tree)
ohne	without	Ohne den Schlüssel kann ich nicht rein. (without the key)
um	around	Wir laufen um den See. (around the lake)

Tip: These are non-negotiable — always accusative. No exceptions. Memorize them as a group.

Prepositions That Always Take Dative

These prepositions ALWAYS require the dative case. A common mnemonic is the made-up word "ABS VONM ZUSEI" — Aus, Bei, Seit, Von, Nach, Mit, Zu, Seit, Gegenüber.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
mit	with	Ich fahre mit dem Bus. (by bus)
bei	at, near, at the home of	Ich wohne bei meinem Freund. (at my friend's place)
nach	after, to (cities/countries)	Nach dem Essen gehe ich. (After the meal...)
von	from, of	Das Buch ist von dem Autor. (by the author)
zu	to (people/places)	Ich gehe zu der Schule. (zur Schule)
aus	out of, from (origin)	Ich komme aus der Schweiz. (from Switzerland)
seit	since, for (time)	Ich lerne seit einem Jahr. (for one year)

Tip: Common contractions: "zu der" → "zur," "zu dem" → "zum," "von dem" → "vom," "bei dem" → "beim." These are standard in everyday German.

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🧩 Accusative & Dative Cases

What Cases Do

The Accusative Case

The Dative Case

Two-Way Prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen)

Prepositions That Always Take Accusative

Prepositions That Always Take Dative

Practice with Interactive Quizzes

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