Prepositions of Place

There are many prepositions of place in German that answer the questions "where?" and "where to?" Most of them are used with a certain case.

Let's take a look at some of the common prepositions of place.

Aus & Von

Rule 1: By using "aus" and "von", you tell people where you come from.

"Aus" describes that you are moving physically out of a place. It is also used to explain your roots.

Rule 2: When using "von", you can say that you come from a certain place (or certain activity).

Note: Both prepositions are always used with the dative case.

Durch

Rule 3: The preposition "durch" describes the crossing or passing of something. It always comes with accusative case.

Gegenüber

Rule 4: The preposition "gegenüber" describes that somebody or something is placed frontally on the other side of something. It always comes with the dative case.

Rule 5: "Gegenüber" can be placed before or after the noun, but always after a personal pronoun.

Um (herum)

Rule 6: The preposition "um (...herum)" indicates a circular movement around something, or that someone/something is surrounded by something.

Entlang

Rule 7: The preposition "entlang" describes a movement in a parallel direction, next to a specified boundary (with the idea of following alongside something).

Rule 8: This preposition can come before or after a noun. When the noun comes first, we use accusative case, but when the preposition comes first, we use genitive instead. The meaning remains the same.