Download The German Case System

The German Case System
This presentation will help you to choose
the correct word for “the” “a”, “not a” or
“my” when writing German.
Answer each question by clicking on the
hyperlink buttons, until you arrive at the
word you need.
Click here to start
Is the word you are using after
a preposition?
YES
NO
Prepositions:
• until, through, for, against, without, around, along
• on, onto, behind, in, into, next to, by, over, above, under, beneath, before,
in front of, between
• out of, by, with, after, since, of, from, to, opposite
• in spite of, because of, instead of
Nominative Case
m.
f.
nt.
pl.
der
die
das
die
ein
kein
mein
eine
keine
meine
ein
kein
mein
keine
meine
Accusative Case
m.
f.
nt.
pl.
den
die
das
die
einen
keinen
meinen
eine
keine
meine
ein
kein
mein
keine
keine
NB: in + das is normally written as ins
Dative Case
m.
f.
nt.
pl.
dem
der
dem
den
einem
keinem
meinem
einer
keiner
meiner
einem
keinem
meinem
keinen
meinen
NB: in + dem is normally written as im; an + dem is normally written as am;
Genitive Case
m.
f.
nt.
pl.
des
der
des
der
eines
keines
meines
einer
keiner
meiner
eines
keines
meines
keiner
meiner
Is the noun you are using before
or after the verb “to be”?
YES
NO
Examples
Noun before “sein” (to be) : The answer is complicated.
Noun after “sein” (to be) : He is my father.
Is the noun you are using the
subject of the sentence?
YES
The subject is the “doer” of the action.
Examples
The man buys the dog.
The dog chews a stick.
NO
Is the noun you are using the
direct object of the sentence?
YES
NO
The direct object is the object of the action.
Examples
The man buys the dog.
The dog chews a stick.
Is the noun you are using the
indirect object of the sentence?
YES
NO
The indirect object often translates the idea of “to” or “for” even if we don’t bother
to use those words (ie it denotes the beneficiary of the action.
Examples
I am buying my mother a present. (ie I am buying a present for my mother.
I gave my brother ten quid. (ie I gave ten quid to my brother.)
Is the noun you are using the after
folgen, helfen or begegnen?
YES
NO
In German the indirect object is used after the verbs to follow, to help and
to meet / bump into .
Are you indicating possession or
translating “ of ” or “ …’s ”?
YES
NO
Examples
My friend’s house (ie the house of my friend)
My sister’s boyfriend. (ie the boyfriend of my sister.)
Are you using
bis, durch, für, gegen, wider,
ohne, um, or entlang?
YES
NO
Meanings:
bis - until; durch - through; für - for; gegen - against; wider - against;
ohne - without; um - around; entlang - along
Are you using
an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über
unter, vor, or zwischen?
YES
NO
Meanings:
an - on, at; auf - on; hinter - behind; in - in, into; neben - next to, by;
über - over, above; unter - under, beneath; vor - before, in front of;
zwischen - between
Does the prepositon convey a
sense of movement from A to B
or does it emphasise location?
A to B
Location
What???
“I ran behind the tree.”: “behind” conveys a sense of movement
from on place to another (A to B).
“I stood behind the tree.” : “behind” emphasises location (no
movement from A to B).
Are you using
aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu,
or gegenüber (von)?
YES
NO
Meanings:
aus - out of, from; bei - near, by; mit - with; nach - after; seit - since;
von - of, from, by; zu - to; gegenüber / gegenüber von - opposite
Are you using
trotz, wegen, or statt?
YES
NO
Meanings:
trotz - in spite of; wegen - because of; statt - instead of