German Grammar A–Z
Look up German grammar topics A–Z, organized by category and level — with clear explanations and examples.
Declension in German
1) Kasus - What is case?
Case determines the positions of the parts of a sentence and their meanings. Identifying the case correctly is a prerequisite for more advanced grammar structures.
2) The cases in German
As you know, German has 3 genders: der, die, das and 4 cases: Akkusativ, Nominativ, Dativ and Genitiv.
So how do we tell these cases apart in a sentence, and what are their roles? Let's find out.
2.1 Nominativ (Case 1)
Case 1 is simply a noun or noun phrase that acts as the subject of the sentence, the main agent acting on the object.
E.g.: Sie liebt ihn. (Sie here is the subject, the direct agent acting in the context)
Das ist mein Buch. (Mein Buch is a noun that acts as the subject of the sentence)
2.2 Genitiv (Case 2):
Case 2, also called Genitiv, is used to describe things or matters that belong to someone or something. Case 2 answers the question Wessen?
Ex. 1: Wessen Stift ist das? Das ist meiner Schwester. (That is my sister's pen)
meiner Schwester acts as the possessive case in the sentence: the pen belongs to my sister, so the noun for my sister is declined in case 2.
Ex. 2: Das Bein des Hundes ist verletzt. (The dog's leg is hurt)
Similarly, in this sentence the leg belongs to the dog, so the noun for the dog must be declined in case 2.
How to use Genitiv with the different types of articles:
|
Der |
Die |
Das |
Die (Plural) |
|
|
Definite article (bestimmter Artikel) |
des |
der |
des |
der |
|
Indefinite article (unbestimmter Artikel) |
eines |
einer |
eines |
- |
|
Possessive article (possessiver Artikel) |
seines |
seiner |
seines |
seiner |
|
Negative article (negativer Artikel) |
keines |
keiner |
keines |
keiner |
2.3 + 2.4: Dativ (Case 3) and Akkusativ (Case 4):
|
Case 3 (Dativ) |
Case 4 (Akkusativ) |
|
Acts as the indirect object in the sentence, receiving the action from the subject. Dativ answers the question Wem? (to whom?, directed at whom?, belonging to whom?) and Wo? E.g.: Diese Tasche gehört mir. (This bag is mine) In this sentence, mir acts as the object, receiving the action from the subject Sie. mir complements the subject and the verb, which tells us: who does this bag belong to? |
Acts as the direct object in the sentence, receiving the action directly from the subject and complementing the verb of the sentence. However, Akkusativ is generally used more often than Dativ, because most verbs act directly on the object. Akkusativ answers the questions Wen? and Wohin? E.g.: Ich habe dir ein Buch geschenkt. (Yesterday I gave you a book.) dir acts as the object, directly receiving the action from the subject Ich, and at the same time dir complements the subject and the verb schenken. This lets us understand: who is this book given to? Who is the recipient? |
|
Prepositions used with Dativ: mit, nach, bei, von, zu, sei, gegenüber, dank,... |
Prepositions used with Akkusativ: ohne, durch, für, gehen, um, bis... |
|
Use Dativ when talking about the fixed position of an object with the prepositions an, auf, in, vor, neben, hinter, unter, über, zwischen. E.g.: Das Bild liegt auf dem Tisch. (The picture lies on the table.) The table is a fixed position and no action is acting on that position. |
Use Akkusativ when talking about the non-fixed position (movement) of an object with the prepositions an, auf, in, vor, neben, hinter, unter, über, zwischen. E.g.: Ich stellte meine Tasche auf dem Tisch. (I put my bag on the table.) Here there is a movement of the bag from my hand down to the position on the table. |
|
Dativ comes after the verbs: gehören, gefallen, zuhören, danken, anworten, helfen, verzeihen, folgen,… |
Akkusativ goes with the verbs: brauchen, bekommen, bestellen, haben, vergessen,... |
