German Prepositions: Dative and Akkusative

Präpositionen with Dative and Akkusative

• Präposition: A word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence.
• Dative: A grammatical case in German, indicating the indirect object (e.g., recipient of a benefit, or location).
• Akkusative: A grammatical case in German, indicating the direct object (e.g., the thing being acted upon).

Examples of Präpositionen

• An (on/at):

  • Dative (Position): an der Tafel (on the board), an dem Tisch (on the table)
  • Akkusative (Action): an die Tafel (to the board)

• Auf (on/upon):

  • Dative (Position): auf dem Tisch (on the table)
  • Akkusative (Action): auf den Tisch (onto the table)

• In (in/into):

  • Dative (Position): in der Pension (in the pension), im Winter (in the winter)
  • Akkusative (Action): in die Pension (into the pension)

• Hinter (behind):

  • Dative (Position): hinter dem Hotel (behind the hotel)
  • Akkusative (Action): hinter das Hotel (behind the hotel)

• Vor (before/in front of):

  • Dative (Position): vor dem Krankenhaus (in front of the hospital)
  • Akkusative (Action): vor das Krankenhaus (in front of the hospital)

• Über (over/above):

  • Dative (Position): über dem Tisch (over the table)
  • Akkusative (Action): über den Tisch (over the table)

• Unter (under):

  • Dative (Position): unter dem Sofa (under the sofa)
  • Akkusative (Action): unter das Sofa (under the sofa)

• Neben (beside):

  • Dative (Position): neben dem Haus (beside the house)
  • Akkusative (Action): neben das Haus (beside the house)

• Zwischen (between/among):

  • Dative (Position): zwischen mir und der Kollegin (between me and the colleague).
  • Note: The dative case of a pronoun is dependent on the role it plays in the action; however, the noun describing the action will be in the dative case. Thus "zwischen mich und die Kollegin is an incorrect phrase, as the verb is missing.