Contents · A1
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German has four cases. The nominative is the case of the subject and of the noun after sein; the accusative is the case of the direct object and of the noun after some prepositions; the dative is the case of the person who receives or is helped, and of the noun after other prepositions; the genitive expresses whose something is. At A1, the nominative and the accusative are used in full, the dative begins with the article, a few pronouns and a few verbs and prepositions, and the genitive appears with names.
The article in the nominative, accusative and dative#
Formation
The case is shown mainly by the article, the noun itself changing little. In the accusative, the masculine changes: der → den, ein → einen; the feminine, neuter and plural articles are the same as in the nominative. In the dative, der and das become dem, die (feminine) becomes der, and the plural die becomes den, with -n added to the noun unless the plural already ends in -n or -s. Ein becomes einem (masculine and neuter) and eine becomes einer. Kein takes the endings of ein.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | der, ein | die, eine | das, ein | die |
| accusative | den, einen | die, eine | das, ein | die |
| dative | dem, einem | der, einer | dem, einem | den + -n |
Use
The nominative is used for the subject and for the noun after sein and werden: Das ist ein Garten. The accusative is used for the direct object, the person or thing that the action is done to, after es gibt, and after für and ohne: Wir haben einen Garten. The dative is used after mit, aus, bei, nach, von and zu, after in, an and auf for a place, and for the person with helfen, gefallen and geben.
- Der Hund schläft.The dog is sleeping.
- Ich sehe den Hund.I can see the dog.
- Lisa geht mit dem Hund in den Park.Lisa is going to the park with the dog.
- Gibt es hier einen Supermarkt?Is there a supermarket here?
- Ich fahre mit der Bahn.I am going by train.
- Max spielt mit den Kindern.Max is playing with the children.
Difference from English
English shows the object by word order alone: “the dog sees the man”, “the man sees the dog”. German shows it in the article, so Den Mann sieht der Hund still means “the dog sees the man”. English by bus, by train has no article; German has the article in the dative: mit dem Bus, mit der Bahn.
Common mistakes
Ich habe ein Bruder.→ Ich habe einen Bruder.A masculine direct object takes einen.Im Dorf gibt es ein Supermarkt.→ Im Dorf gibt es einen Supermarkt.The noun after es gibt is in the accusative.Ich fahre mit den Zug.→ Ich fahre mit dem Zug.Mit is followed by the dative.Ich spiele mit den Kinder.→ Ich spiele mit den Kindern.The dative plural adds -n to the noun.
→ See also: Prepositions with a fixed case (A1)
Practise
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The genitive: Annas Buch#
Formation
A name followed by -s, with no apostrophe, expresses whose a thing is. It stands before the noun, which then has no article: Annas Buch, Pauls Auto. A name ending in -s, -ß, -x or -z takes an apostrophe alone: Jonas’ Zimmer, Max’ Schwester.
With other nouns, the genitive is shown by the article, and the noun in the genitive follows the noun it belongs to. Masculine and neuter nouns take des and add -s or -es: der Name des Hotels, die Tür des Hauses. Feminine and plural nouns take der and no ending: die Nummer der Wohnung. These forms are mostly met in written German and are recognised at this level.
Use
In speech, von with the dative often replaces the genitive: das Zimmer von Tom, die Farbe vom Auto.
- Das ist Lenas Katze.That is Lena's cat.
- Pauls Eltern wohnen in Wien.Paul's parents live in Vienna.
- Die Adresse des Hotels ist auf der Karte.The hotel's address is on the map.
Difference from English
In English, an apostrophe is written before the s (Anna's); in German, none is written: Annas. A name in -s takes 's in English (James's), but an apostrophe alone in German: Jonas’.
Common mistakes
Anna's Buch→ Annas BuchThe genitive -s of a name is written with no apostrophe.das Lenas Zimmer→ Lenas ZimmerAfter a name in -s, the noun has no article.
In short
| Case | Use at A1 | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | subject; after sein | Der Bus kommt. Das ist ein Bus. |
| accusative | direct object; es gibt; für, ohne | Ich nehme den Bus. |
| dative | mit, aus, bei, nach, von, zu; place after in, an, auf; helfen, gefallen, geben | Ich fahre mit dem Bus. |
| genitive | a name + -s; des, der recognised | Annas Bus |
Practise
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