TOPIC · Prepositions (Präpositionen)

Preposition guide 2 — Which Kasus does each preposition take?

A1A2

Four groups of prepositions by Kasus, mnemonic for each group, and a method to never choose the wrong article

Präposition + Kasus

Preposition + Case: each preposition requires the noun/pronoun following it to change its article and ending according to a specific case.

1General rules

In German, each preposition goes with a fixed case. When used with a preposition, nouns/pronouns change their form (Artikel + Endung).

  • Ich fahre mit dem Bus. (mit → Dativ → dem)
  • Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (auf → where → Dativ → dem)
  • Das Geschenk ist für den Vater. (für → Akkusativ → den)

The most important thing

Prepositions do not have fixed meanings — the meaning of the whole phrase is determined by the case. Therefore, always learn prepositions by case groups, not as isolated words.

2Four preposition groups by Kasus

KasusThe prepositionsThe mnemonicGeneral meanings
Akkusativdurch, für, gegen, ohne, um (+ bis, entlang)„durch – für – gegen – ohne – um"towards, through, because of, without, around
Dativaus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu„aus – bei – mit – nach – seit – von – zu"from, at, with, to, since, of
Genitivtrotz, während, wegen, (an)statt, innerhalb, außerhalb, aufgrund„trotz – während – wegen – statt" (4 core words)despite, during, because of, instead of, within/outside the scope
Akk. or Dativan, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen„an – auf – hinter – in – neben – über – unter – vor – zwischen"position, direction, location

The fourth group has its own name

The last nine prepositions in the table are called Wechselpräpositionen — prepositions that change case. They take Akkusativ or Dativ depending on the question Wohin? or Wo?. All of Section 6 is dedicated to this group.

3The article table to memorize

Kasusder (masculine)die (feminine)das (neuter)die (plural)
Akkusativdendiedasdie
Dativdemderdemden + noun -n
Genitivdes + noun -sderdes + noun -sder

Two endings often forgotten

· Dativ plural: mit den Kindern, zwischen den Häusern. · Genitiv masculine/neuter: wegen des Wetters, trotz des Regens.

4How to avoid choosing wrong

  1. Look at the preposition → determine Kasus
  2. Remember the article forms (der, die, das, den, dem, des…) to know how to change
  3. Learn by phrase + example + question, not by isolated words.
  4. Practice making sentences and rewriting them many times

Comparison example:

mit + Dativfür + Akkusativ
SentenceIch gehe mit dem Freund.Das Geschenk ist für den Vater.
MeaningI go with the friendThe gift for the father
QuestionMit wem?Für wen?

Kasus is the foundation

Learning prepositions by Kasus is the most important step — later, learning Verb + Präposition and Adjektiv + Präposition will build on this