CONTENT
Prepositions determine the case of the noun, pronoun or article that follows them. Some prepositions always use the same case.
Prepositions Followed by the Accusative Case
Rule 1: These prepositions are always followed by the accusative case:
German
English
für
for
ohne
without
durch
through, by
um
around, for, at
gegen
against, for
bis
until, to, by
entlang
along, down
For example:
German
English
Der Wein ist für dich.
The wine is for you.
Prepositions Followed by the Dative Case
Rule 2: These prepositions are always followed by the dative case:
German
English
ab
from
aus
from, out of
bei
at, near
mit
with, by
nach
after, to
seit
since, for
von
from, by
zu
to, at
This list is not complete, but these propositions are the most commonly used.
For example:
German
English
Wir warten seit einer Stunde.
We've been waiting for an hour.
Prepositions Followed by the Dative Case
Rule 3: The most important prepositions always followed by the genitive case are:
German
English
wegen
because of
trotz
despite, in spite of
während
during
statt
instead of
aufgrund
due to
dank
thanks to
innerhalb
inside of
For example:
German
English
Der Anruf kam während des Essens.
The call came during dinner.
Two-Way Prepositions: In
Rule 4: Some prepositions are two-way prepositions, which means they can be either accusative or dative case. One of the most common two-way prepositions is "in" (in, into).
The simple rule for "in" to remember is:
- if you are referring to either movement or direction, you use the accusative case. (It answers the question "where to?")
German
English
Ich gehe in die Stadt.
I'm going into town.
- whereas if you are referring to location or position, you use the dative. (It answers the question "where?")
German
English
Ich bin in der Stadt.
I'm in the city.