4.

2: Using Prepositions
Use prepositions to describe activities and items in your house.

The German language is based on a case system. That means that articles, nouns, and
adjectives change their form based on how they are used in a sentence. The three main
cases are Nominativ, Akkusativ, and Dativ. The Nominativ form is used for the subject of
a sentence. The Akkusativ form is used for the direct object, and the Dativ form is used
for the indirect object. You learned a little about these cases in your first-year German
class. Let’s look at some examples:

● Der Mann geht ins Kino.

● Ich habe den Mann gesehen.

In the first sentence, “der Mann” is the subject of the sentence. In the second, it is the
direct object. Notice how the form of the article “der” changes to “den” in the Akkusativ.

● Ich mag die Frau.

● Ich will der Frau einen Blumenstrauß geben.

In the first sentence, “die Frau” is the direct object. In the second sentence the “einen
Blumenstrauß” is the direct object and “der Frau” is the indirect object. Notice the
change from “die” to “der” in the Dativ.

As English speakers, we are not used to thinking about what the subject, direct object,
or indirect object of a sentence is. To be able to speak German correctly, we have to
learn to immediately recognize these parts of a sentence. The best way to do this is to
always notice the subject, direct object, and indirect object of the German sentences
you see, hear, and write. Force yourself to think about sentences in this way. It will soon
become a habit and you will have no difficulty with it. Use these questions to help you
determine the role of a noun in a sentence:
 1. Who or what is doing the action in the sentence?
1. The answer to this question will give you the subject (Nominativ).
2. What is being made, given, done (any verb) in the sentence?
1. The answer to this question will give you the direct object (Akkusativ).
3. To whom or for whom is it being done?
1. The answer to this question will give you the indirect object (Dativ).

Let’s try it out.

Der Mann gibt dem Kind die Schokolade.

Who? der Mann “Der Mann” has the Nominativ, or subject, form.

What? die “Die Schokolade” has the Akkusativ, or direct object,

Schokolade form.

To dem Kind “Dem Kind” has the Dativ, or direct object, form.
whom?

Several different groups of words change their form according to case. These are the
definite articles, the Ein-words and the Der-words. The Ein-words consist of the
indefinite articles ein and kein plus the possessive pronouns. The Der-words are the
demonstratives.

Artikel
der, die, das

Ein-Wörter
ein/kein
mein unser

dein euer

sein, ihr, ihr,

sein Ihr

my our

your your

his, her, their,

its your

dies- this

jed- every
 jen- that

solch- such

welch whic
- h

Notice how these groups of words change according to case in the following chart. One
of the most important things you can do as you learn German is to memorize this chart.
The articles are in the first row of each case, followed by the Ein-words, and then the
Der-words. All the words from the lists above take the same endings.

Maskulinum Neutrum Feminin Plural

Nomina dermeindieser dasmeindieses diemeinediese diemeinedies

tiv e

Akkusa denmeinendiesen dasmeindieses diemeinediese diemeinedies

tiv e

Dativ demmeinemdiese demmeinemdiese dermeinerdies den +

m m er nmeinen +
ndiesen + n
Let’s look at some examples:

Die Kinder sind freundlich. “Die Kinder” is

Nominativ.

Ich sehe die Kinder spielen. “Die Kinder” is

Akkusativ.

Ich gebe den Kindern einen “Den Kindern” is Dativ.

Ball.

The basic word order is for Dativ to come before Akkusativ. However, if the Akkusativ
object is a pronoun, then it comes before the Dativ object.

Basic word order for Akkusativ and Dativ.

© BYU Independent Study
With that important review of the cases under our belts, we can turn our attention to the
German prepositions. Prepositions also have an effect on the nouns they govern.
Prepositions are words that start prepositional phrases. These phrases have an
adverbial relationship to the rest of the sentence and answer the questions “when?”
“where?” or “how?” Prepositional phrases always contain a noun. The noun in the
phrase takes either the Akkusativ or Dativ case depending on the preposition. The lists
below show which prepositions are followed by nouns in the Akkusativ case and which
are followed by nouns in the Dativ case. For instance, nouns coming after the
preposition durch are in the Akkusativ. Memorize the following lists.

durch through

für for

gege against,
n about

(time
contexts)

ohne without

um around, at

(time
contexts)
aus out of, from

auße except for

r

bei with, at,

near

mit with

nach to, after

seit since

von from

zu to, at

Let’s look at some examples:

Basic word order for Akkusativ and Dativ
© BYU Independent Study

There is another list of prepositions that can take either the Akkusativ or Dativ case. The
case they take depends on the meaning of the preposition. When these prepositions
describe a static location, they take the Dativ. When they show movement from or
towards a location, they take the Akkusativ. Here is the list and some examples:

in in, into

an on (vertically), at

auf on (horizontally),
at

hinter behind

neben next to
unter under

vor in front of

zwische between
n

über over, about

Prepositions that take either the Akkusativ case and Dativ case.
© BYU Independent Study

You’ll notice that I wrote the Akkusativ and Dativ prepositions in three groups. The first
group of in, an, and auf are Akkusativ about 50 percent of the time and Dativ about 50
percent of the time in their usage. In English we use two separate words to convey the
different meanings expressed in these three German prepositions. To express location,
we use “in” or “on.” To express movement to a location, we use “into” or “onto.” German,
however, uses the same word to mean both but uses the two different cases to
differentiate between being somewhere and going somewhere. For instance, auf is
used for both “on the table” and “onto the table.”

The prepositions in the second group, beginning with hinter, are almost always Dativ.
These prepositions can take the Akkusativ, but because they almost always decribe a
location, they are almost always Dativ.

The final preposition, über, is most frequently used with the Akkusativ. Most of the time,
über is used in an idiomatic way to mean “about.” Since this doesn’t refer to a location, it
is Akkusativ.

Many prepositions are used to form contractions. Here is a list of the most common
contractions:

in + dem = im

in + das = ins

zu + dem = zum

an + dem = am

an + das = ans

auf + das = aufs

für + das = fürs

When there is more than one prepositional phrase in a sentence the order of those
phrases is time, manner, then place, or wann, wie, wo. This may seem strange to you
because in English we usually say where something happened before we say when it
happened. It is the opposite in German.
The order of a sentence with multiple prepositional phrases is time, manner, and then place.
© BYU Independent Study

Often, a prepositional phrase will be used as an adverbial phrase that starts a sentence.
The other prepositional phrases that follow use the wann, wie, wo word order. Akkusativ
objects usually come before a wie or a wo phrase. A wann phrase usually comes before
the Akkusativ object.

Wann, wie, wo word order

© BYU Independent Study

Prepositions can be a difficult part of a language to master. It can be hard to know which
preposition to use because many prepositions have more than one meaning, and those
meanings don’t easily match up with the meanings of the English prepositions. The best
way to handle this is to make sure you notice how prepositions are used in the German
you hear and read. You’ll see and hear them a lot. When you are writing or speaking
German, use the prepositions in the same contexts in which you have previously heard
and seen them. You will soon have a good feel for the idiomatic meanings of the
prepositions. In this unit, we are focusing on the cases of the prepositions. The activities
that follow will test only your understanding of the cases. As you complete the activities,
think about the meanings of the prepositions, even though you are focusing on the
cases.

Practice Activity
Write fifteen German sentences using prepositions and the vocabulary for household
items and furniture. Be creative. Use the example sentences in the discussion material
as a model.

You may copy the letters below and paste them into your answer.

ÄäÖöÜüß