Verbs that take the Nominative case in German

We often see familiar phrases such as: a list of verbs that take Akkusativ, a list of verbs that take Dativ, …. However, beginners learning German often overlook the fact that some verbs only take the first case, Nominativ. In today's article, we will explore these verbs together!!!

1. The verb "sein"

• When acting as a Vollverb, that is, the main verb in position 2, conjugated according to the subject and tense, sein takes Nominativ.

Das ist mein Hund.

(This is my dog.)

• When sein acts as a Hilfsverb (auxiliary verb), sein has no effect on the other elements in the sentence.

1. The verb "werden"

• Except when werden acts as an auxiliary verb in the passive voice or in the future tense, similarly to sein, when acting as a Vollverb, werden takes Nominativ.

Mein großer Bruder wird ein guter Architekt.

(My older brother will be a good architect.)

1. The verb "bleiben"

Der FC Bayern München bleibt der Erste der Bundesliga.

(FC Bayern Munich remains the first in the Bundesliga.)

1. The verb "heißen"

Die Frau heißt Karin Mustermann.

(The woman's name is Karin Mustermann.)

!!!!Note: When the verb heißen is used as a replacement for nennen, heißen does not take Nominativ but takes Akkusativ instead. Example:

Der Mann nennt den Politiker einen Idioten.

= Der Mann heißt den Politiker einen Idioten.

(The man calls the politician an idiot.)

1. 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, proper names, etc., when functioning as the subject, are declined in the 1st case, Nominativ.

In addition, there are sentences in which Nominativ does not appear, such as the imperative sentence Imperativ: Komm sofort nach Hause. (Come home immediately.)