The case system

German uses four grammatical cases to show the role each noun plays in a sentence. Cases are arguably the most challenging concept for English speakers learning German, but they're also the key that unlocks the entire language. Once you understand how cases work, German grammar becomes logical and predictable. This page will take you through each case systematically.

What are cases?

Cases mark the grammatical function of nouns, pronouns, and their modifiers. In English, we rely almost entirely on word order: "The dog bites the man" means something different from "The man bites the dog." We know the dog is doing the biting because it comes before the verb.

German uses a different system. By changing the articles and word endings (cases), German can show who does what to whom regardless of word order. This gives German more flexibility in emphasis and style.

The four cases

German has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Each case marks a different grammatical role. The nominative identifies the subject, the accusative identifies the direct object, the dative identifies the indirect object, and the genitive shows possession. Asking the right question helps you identify which case to use:

Case	Question it answers	Function
Nominative	Who/What?	Subject of the sentence
Accusative	Whom/What?	Direct object
Dative	To/For whom?	Indirect object
Genitive	Whose?	Possession

Definite articles by case

This is the core table you need to memorise. The definite articles (the equivalents of English "the") change form depending on case and gender. Notice that feminine and plural articles only change in the dative — this is a helpful simplification. Masculine nouns show the most variation, changing in every case:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	der	die	das	die
Accusative	den	die	das	die
Dative	dem	der	dem	den
Genitive	des	der	des	der

Notice that feminine and plural articles only change in the dative case.

Indefinite articles by case

The indefinite articles (equivalents of "a/an") follow similar patterns to the definite articles. There's no plural indefinite article — where English might say "some books", German just says "Bucher" (books) with no article:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ein	eine	ein
Accusative	einen	eine	ein
Dative	einem	einer	einem
Genitive	eines	einer	eines

The nominative case

The nominative is the "default" case — the form you'll find in dictionaries. It marks the subject of the sentence (who or what performs the action). If you can ask "Who/What is doing this?" about a noun, that noun is in the nominative. The nominative is also used after "sein" (to be) and similar linking verbs:

1. The subject of a sentence (who/what performs the action)

• Der Mann liest. — The man reads.
• Die Frau arbeitet. — The woman works.
• Das Kind spielt. — The child plays.

2. After the verb sein (to be) and similar verbs

• Er ist ein Lehrer. — He is a teacher.
• Sie wird eine Ärztin. — She is becoming a doctor.

The accusative case

The accusative marks the direct object — the person or thing that directly receives the action of the verb. If you can ask "Whom/What does the subject affect?" about a noun, that noun is in the accusative. The accusative is also required after certain prepositions. Good news: only masculine articles change between nominative and accusative ("der" becomes "den", "ein" becomes "einen"). Feminine and neuter articles stay the same:

1. The direct object (who/what receives the action)

• Ich sehe den Mann. — I see the man.
• Sie kauft einen Apfel. — She buys an apple.
• Er liest das Buch. — He reads the book.

2. After certain prepositions

These prepositions always take the accusative:

Preposition	Meaning
durch	through
für	for
gegen	against
ohne	without
um	around, at (time)
bis	until
entlang	along (after noun)

Examples:

• Das ist für dich. — That is for you.
• Wir gehen durch den Park. — We walk through the park.
• Sie kommt ohne ihren Mann. — She comes without her husband.

The dative case

The dative marks the indirect object — the person or thing that benefits from or is affected by the action, often answering "To whom?" or "For whom?". In "I give the book to the man", "the man" is the indirect object (dative) and "the book" is the direct object (accusative). The dative also follows certain prepositions and verbs. All genders change in the dative, so this case requires the most attention:

1. The indirect object (to/for whom)

• Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. — I give the book to the man.
• Sie kauft der Frau Blumen. — She buys flowers for the woman.

2. After certain prepositions

These prepositions always take the dative:

Preposition	Meaning
aus	from, out of
bei	at, near, with
mit	with
nach	after, to (cities/countries)
seit	since, for (time)
von	from, of, by
zu	to
gegenüber	opposite, towards

Examples:

• Ich fahre mit dem Zug. — I travel by train.
• Er wohnt bei seinen Eltern. — He lives with his parents.
• Sie kommt aus der Schweiz. — She comes from Switzerland.

3. After certain verbs

Some verbs take a dative object rather than accusative:

Verb	Meaning	Example
helfen	to help	Ich helfe dir. (I help you.)
danken	to thank	Ich danke Ihnen. (I thank you.)
gehören	to belong to	Das gehört mir. (That belongs to me.)
gefallen	to please	Das gefällt mir. (I like that.)
folgen	to follow	Folgen Sie mir! (Follow me!)

The genitive case

The genitive shows possession or close relationships between nouns, similar to English "'s" or "of". "The man's car" becomes "das Auto des Mannes" — literally "the car of-the man". The genitive is also required after certain formal prepositions. Note that masculine and neuter nouns themselves add an "-s" or "-es" ending in the genitive, not just the article. In casual spoken German, the genitive is often replaced by "von" + dative, but you'll encounter it constantly in writing and formal speech:

1. Possession (of, 's)

• das Auto des Mannes — the man's car
• die Tasche der Frau — the woman's bag
• das Spielzeug des Kindes — the child's toy

Note: Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es in the genitive:

• der Mann → des Mannes
• das Kind → des Kindes

2. After certain prepositions

Preposition	Meaning
während	during
wegen	because of
trotz	despite
statt/anstatt	instead of
außerhalb	outside of
innerhalb	inside of

Examples:

• während des Sommers — during the summer
• wegen des Regens — because of the rain

TIP

In spoken German, the genitive is often replaced by von + dative:

• Written: das Haus meines Vaters (my father's house)
• Spoken: das Haus von meinem Vater

Two-way prepositions

Some prepositions are "two-way" — they can take either accusative or dative depending on meaning. The rule is: accusative for movement toward a destination ("Where to?"), dative for location ("Where at?"). This distinction is crucial and will become intuitive with practice. "Ich gehe in das Haus" (I go into the house — movement) vs "Ich bin in dem Haus" (I am in the house — location):

These nine prepositions take accusative for movement toward, and dative for location at:

Preposition	Meaning
an	at, on (vertical)
auf	on (horizontal)
hinter	behind
in	in, into
neben	next to
über	over, above
unter	under
vor	in front of, before
zwischen	between

Accusative (movement):

• Ich gehe in das Haus. — I go into the house.
• Er legt das Buch auf den Tisch. — He puts the book on the table.

Dative (location):

• Ich bin in dem Haus. — I am in the house.
• Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. — The book is on the table.

Personal pronouns by case

Pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.) also change form based on case, just like in English (I/me/my). You already use this concept — "I see him" (not "I see he"). German simply extends this to more situations. This table is essential; you'll use these pronouns constantly:

Nominative	Accusative	Dative	English
ich	mich	mir	I, me, to me
du	dich	dir	you (informal)
er	ihn	ihm	he, him
sie	sie	ihr	she, her
es	es	ihm	it
wir	uns	uns	we, us
ihr	euch	euch	you (plural informal)
sie	sie	ihnen	they, them
Sie	Sie	Ihnen	you (formal)

Practice sentences

Now let's see how cases work in real sentences. Analyse each example to identify which case each noun takes and why. This kind of active analysis will train your brain to recognise case patterns automatically:

German	Analysis	English
Der Hund beißt den Mann.	Nom. + Acc.	The dog bites the man.
Ich gebe dir das Geld.	Nom. + Dat. + Acc.	I give you the money.
Das ist das Auto meines Vaters.	Nom. + Gen.	That is my father's car.
Sie fährt mit dem Bus zur Arbeit.	Dat. + Dat.	She travels by bus to work.

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