Cases – Nominative, Accusative & Dative

In German, the word for ‘the’ and ‘a / an’ changes depending

on the position of the noun in the sentence.

Row 1:  If the noun is at the beginning of the sentence and

comes before the verb you use the word for ‘the’ or ‘a / an’

from Row 1 (nominative).  This is because the noun is the

subject of the sentence, i.e. it is the thing that ‘does’ the

action of the verb (it is part of the snap pair).

 

Row 2:  If the noun is in the second part of the sentence

after the verb you use the word for ‘the’ or ‘a / an’ from Row 2

(accusative).  This is because the noun is the object of the sentence.

The only exception to this is if you use the verb ‘sein’ –

to be or ‘heissen’ – to be called.

    • *We also use Row 2 if the noun comes
    • directly after the following prepositions:
      • bis – until, to, by
      • durch – through, by
      • entlang – along, down
      • für – for
      • gegen – against, for
      • ohne – without
      • um – around, for, at (time)

 

cases

Row 3 is called the Dative Case and is used when the noun

comes after the following prepositions:

 

    • aus – from, out of
    • außer – except for
    • bei – at, near
    • gegenüber –  opposite
    • mit – with
    • nach – after, to
    • seit – since (time), for
    •   von – from
    • zu – at, to

 

The following prepositions are a little complicated.

You use Row 2 after them if there is movement from

one place to another – e.g. Ich gehe ins (in das) Kino – I go to the cinema.

(you are moving from outside the cinema to inside the cinema)

You use Row 3 after them if there is no movement from

one place to another – e.g. Ich bin im (in dem) Kino – I am in the cinema.

(you are in the cinema and are not moving to a different place)

      • an – at, on
      • auf – on
      • hinter – behind
      • in – in
      • neben – next to
      • über – above, over
      • unter – under
      • vor – in front of
      • zwischen – between