The German language, unlike English, has a large and complicated case system. The learner is confronted with this system in every sentence that she speaks or writes. Many German words have different forms depending on which case is needed. Take, for example, the indefinite article a . In German this changes from ein in the nominative (subject case) of a masculine noun to einen in the accusative (object case). Example:
| Ein Hund ist in der Cafeteria. | Nominative for the subject of the sentence. |
| Ich habe einen Hund. | Accusative for the object of the sentence. |
In German 1 this year you have learned three of the four German cases: Nominative, accusative and
dative. Here is a very brief summary of when you need to use each of these.
| Nominative: | For the subject of the sentence. [Examples] |
| Accusative: | 1. For the object of the sentence. [Examples] |
| 2. Following the one-way accusative prepositions: für, ohne, durch, (..plus ..). [Examples] | |
| 3. Following the two-way prepositions: in, auf, (..plus ..) when there is movement from one place to another. [Examples] | |
| Dative: | 1. Following the one-way dative prepositions: mit, nach, bei (..plus ..). [Examples] |
| 2. Following the two-way prepositions: in, auf, (..plus ..) when there is NO movement from one place to another. [Examples] | |
Go to the index of all German case grammar pages.