The German Cases
The Nominative Case (der Nominativ)
The Nominative Case is used for the subject of a sentence and for predicate noun.
The Accusative Case (der Akkusativ)
The Accusative Case * is used for most direct objects.
* The accusative
and dative cases (in German) are both contained in the
same case in English, the Objective Case.
Accusative Prepositions (die Präpositionen mit der Akkusativ)
Ex: Ich bleibe bis nächsten Samstag. (I’m staying until next Saturday.)
| bis (until) | gegen(towards; against) |
| durch (through) | ohne (without) |
| entlang (along) | um (around; about) |
| für (for; in exchange) |
The Dative Case (der Dativ)
* The accusative
and dative cases (in German) are both contained in the
same case in English, the Objective Case.
Dative Adjectives (die Adjektiven mit der Dativ)
Ex: Sei mir nicht böse. (Don't be mad at me.)
| ähnlich (similar) | bewusst (aware; conscious) | gleich (soon; equal) | nahe (near, close) | teuer (expensive) |
| angenehm (pleasant) | böse (mean; angry) | klar(clear; certainly) | nützlich (profitable; advantageous) | wert (valued; worth) |
| bekannt (familiar; well known) | dankbar (grateful) | lieb (dear) | recht (right; just) | willkommen (welcome) |
| bequem (comfortable) | fremd (foreign; strange) | möglich (possible) | schuldig (guilty; indebted) |
The Dative Verbs (die Verben mit der Dativ)
Ex: Ich danke dir. (I thank you.)
| antworten (to answer) |
erlauben (to permit) |
gelingen [ist] (to succeed) |
leid tun (to feel sorry) |
schmecken (to taste) |
| befehlen (to command) |
fehlen (to miss; to be lacking) |
genügen (to be enough, sufficient) |
nützen (to be of use) |
trauen (to trust) |
| begegnen [ist] (to meet) |
folgen [ist] (to follow) |
geschehen [ist] (to happen) |
passen (to fit) |
verzeihen (to pardon, to forgive) |
| danken (to thank) |
gefallen (to please) |
glauben (to believe) |
passieren [ist] (to happen, to take place) |
weh tun (to hurt) |
| dienen (to serve) |
gehorchen (to obey) |
gratulieren (to congratulate) |
raten (to advise; to guess) |
stehen (to stand) |
| einfallen [ist] (to occur to) |
(an)gehören [to belong (to an organization)] |
helfen (to help) |
schaden (to harm, to hurt) |
anbieten (to offer) |
Dative Prepositions (die Präpositionen mit der Dativ)
Ex: Fliegst du nach Amerika? (Are you flying to America?)
| aus (out of) | nach (after; according to) |
| ausser (except) | seit (since) |
| bei (at; near; while, during) | von (of, from, by) |
| gegenüber (opposite) | zu (to; too; shut) |
| mit (with; at; by) |
The Genitive Case (der Genitiv)
The Genitive Case is used to show possession or close relation, used for the objects of some prepositions, and indefinite time expressions.
Ex: Eines Tages ist etwas Komisches passiert. (One day something strange happened.)
NOTE: For masculine and neutral nouns w/ only one syllable, add an s (es) to the singular form of the genitive noun.
Ex: das Auto des Mannes (NOT das Auto des Mann)
Genitive Prepositions (die Präpositionen mit der Genitiv)
Ex: Trotz des Wetters gehen wir schwimmen. (In spite of the weather, we are going swimming.)
| anstatt (instead of) | innerhalb (inside of) |
| trotz (in spite of) | oberhalb (above) |
| während (during, while) | unterhalb (under, beneath, below) |
| wegen (because of, owing to) | diesseits [on this side (of)] |
| ausserhalb (outside, beyond) | jenseits (on the other side; beyond) |
Created by Esther Hillmann
Foreign Language Lab/
University of Houston