German Grammar A–Z
Look up German grammar topics A–Z, organized by category and level — with clear explanations and examples.
Verbs Governing the Nominative
We often see familiar phrases such as: a list of verbs that take the Akkusativ, a list of verbs that take the Dativ, …. But beginning German learners often do not notice that there are some verbs that go only with the first case, the Nominativ. In today's article, we will learn about these verbs together!!!
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The verb “sein”
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When it acts as a Vollverb, that is, a main verb in position 2, conjugated according to the subject and tense, sein goes with the Nominativ.
Das ist mein Hund.
(This is my dog.)
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When sein acts as an auxiliary verb (Hilfsverb), sein has no effect on the other elements of the sentence.
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The verb “werden”
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Except when werden acts as an auxiliary verb in the passive or the future tense, werden, like sein, goes with the Nominativ when it acts as a Vollverb.
Mein großer Bruder wird ein guter Architekt.
(My older brother will be a good architect.)
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The verb “bleiben”
Der FC Bayern München bleibt der Erste der Bundesliga.
(FC Bayern Munich remains first in the Bundesliga.)
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The verb “heißen”
Die Frau heißt Karin Mustermann.
(The woman is called Karin Mustermann.)
!!!!Note: When the verb heißen is used as a replacement for nennen, heißen does not go with the Nominativ but with the Akkusativ. Example:
Der Mann nennt den Politiker einen Idioten.
= Der Mann heißt den Politiker einen Idioten.
(The man calls the politician an idiot.)
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The verb “lauten”
Der Name des Buches lautet “Das Spiel mit dem Feuer.”
(The name of the book is Das Spiel mit dem Feuer.)
!!! Note: All nouns or pronouns, names of people, etc. are in the 1st case, the Nominativ, when they act as the subject.
In addition, there are also sentences in which no Nominativ appears, for example the imperative sentence (Imperativ): Komm sofort nach Hause. (Come home right away.)
