TOPIC · Prepositions (Präpositionen)

Wechselpräpositionen: Prepositions indicating location used with Accusative and Dative in German

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After this lesson, you will be able to correctly use the Wechselpräpositionen with accusative and dative cases.

In German, there are what we call Wechselpräpositionen, which are prepositions that can be combined with both the accusative and dative cases. These prepositions indicate position or direction, and depending on whether we are describing movement or state, we use the appropriate case. In this lesson, we will explore the nine Wechselpräpositionen and learn when to use each case.

1. The Nine Wechselpräpositionen

The main Wechselpräpositionen are:

Preposition	Meaning
an	at/by (direct contact)
auf	on (direct contact)
hinter	behind (behind something)
in	in (within four walls)
neben	next to (beside something)
über	over (above, no contact)
unter	under (beneath something)
vor	in front of (before something)
zwischen	between (between us)

2. Accusative or Dative?

To decide whether to use the accusative or dative, we ask two questions:

Where to? (Accusative - for movement)
Where? (Dative - for position)

Let's look at some examples:

Accusative - Movement

I put the cup on the table.
(Ich stelle die Tasse auf den Tisch - I move the cup onto the table.)
They go behind the house.
(Sie gehen hinter das Haus - Movement to a new location.)

Dative - Position

The cup is on the table.
(Die Tasse steht auf dem Tisch - The cup is static, no movement.)
The dog is lying under the table.
(Der Hund liegt unter dem Tisch - Again, no movement.)

3. Application Examples

Now I will give some examples of how to use Wechselpräpositionen:

Preposition	With Dative (State)	With Accusative (Movement)
an	The picture hangs on the wall.	I hang the picture on the wall.
auf	The laptop is on the table.	I put the laptop on the table.
hinter	I am behind the tree.	He goes behind the tree.
in	The cat is in the box.	I put the cat in the box.
neben	The chair is next to the table.	Place the chair next to the table.
über	The lamp hangs over the table.	I hang the lamp over the table.
unter	The book is under the chair.	I place the book under the chair.
vor	The flower is in front of the window.	I put the flower in front of the window.
zwischen	The chairs are between the tables.	Place the chair between the tables.

These examples highlight the difference between the two cases and how they can be used in practice. Be mindful to identify the difference between movement and state in your own sentences to choose the right preposition and case effectively.

Conclusion

Using Wechselpräpositionen in German is crucial for accurately discussing locations and directions. Once you understand the distinctions between the accusative and dative, speaking and writing will become much easier.