German Cases

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German has four cases for nouns and they are referred to as 'Nominativ’, ‘Akkusativ’, ‘Dativ’, and ‘Genitiv'. All pronouns and articles change their forms according to the case that they identify. In brief, the four cases are used to describe the different role that a particular noun or pronoun plays in a sentence.

Nominativ: The nominative case is used for words that refer to the do-er of the action or the subject of the sentece, zB: 'Der Mann isst den Apfel' – the man is the doer of the action.

Akkusativ: This case is used for words that are the direct object of the verb. The object has something done to it, zB: 'Der Mann isst den Apfel' – The apple is being eaten. The accusative case also follows certain prepositions such as 'für’, ‘um’, ‘durch’, ‘gegen’, and ‘bis'(see page on prepositions), zB: 'ohne meinen Vater'. It is also applied when referring to a certain period in time, such as 'nächsten Sommer’, ‘letzten Samstag’, or ‘den dritten September'.

Dativ: The dative case refers to the indirect object in the sentence. For example, in the following sentence, the direct object is the book and the indirect object is the father: 'Er schenkte seinem Vater ein Buch'. The dative also follows certain prepositions, such as 'aus’, ‘außer’, ‘bei’, ‘entgegen’, gegenüber': zB: 'außer meiner Familie'. Some verbs are followed by a dative object, such as 'begegnen’, ‘danken’, ‘folgen’, ‘gehören’, ‘geschehen’, ‘helfen’, ‘passieren’, ‘schmecken’, and ‘widerstehen', zB: 'Kann ich Ihnen helfen?’

Genitiv: The genitive case is generally used to convey ownership, zB: 'Das Haus meines Vaters liegt an der Grenze'. The genitive also follows certain prepositions, such as 'außerhalb’, ‘innerhalb’, ‘oberhalb’, and ‘unterhalb' (see page on prepositions), zB: 'Sie sind wegen des schlechten Wetters zu Hause geblieben'.