Case For Intermediate learners
What is a Grammatical Case?
Case (Kasus) is a grammatical category, and it demonstrates the function of a noun or pronoun in a sentence or phrase. It shows whether a noun is the doer, receiver, or owner of something. The case of a noun effects its article, its ending and sometimes the ending of the adjective of that noun.
Grammatical Cases in German
German has four grammatical cases:
Nominative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive
Nominative Case
This case functions as the subject. The subject is the person or thing that performs the action. You can usually find it by asking "who?" or "what?".
Definite and Indefinite Articles for Nominative Case
Definite Article | Indefinite Article | |
|---|---|---|
Masculine | der Hund | ein Hund |
Feminine | die Frau | eine Frau |
Neuter | das Buch | ein Buch |
Plural | die Hunde | (no article) |
Der Hund bellt.
The dog barks.
Eine Frau liest.
A woman is reading.
Accusative Case
The accusative case can mark two things:
Direct Object
Object of the Preposition
Direct Object
It marks the direct object, which is the person or thing that directly receives the action of the verb.
Definite and Indefinite Articles for Accusative Case
Definite Article | Indefinite Article | |
|---|---|---|
Masculine | den Hund | einen Hund |
Feminine | die Frau | eine Frau |
Neuter | das Buch | ein Buch |
Plural | die Hunde | (no article) |
Die Frau sieht den Hund.
The woman sees the dog.
Der Mann kauft ein Buch.
The man buys a book.
Object of the Preposition
The accusative case can also mark the object of certain prepositions.
Here are some accusative prepositions:
Translation | |
|---|---|
fĂŒr | for |
um | around, at |
durch | through |
gegen | against |
ohne | without |
Das Geschenk ist fĂŒr den Vater.
The gift is for the father.
Sie sitzen um den Tisch.
They are sitting around the table.
Wir fahren durch den Tunnel.
We're driving through the tunnel.
Dative Case
The dative case can mark two things:
Indirect Object
Object of the Preposition
Indirect Object
The dative case marks the indirect object of a sentence. It is the person or thing that is the recipient of the action or benefits from it. You can usually find it by asking "to/for whom?".
Definite and Indefinite Articles for Dative Case
Definite Article | Indefinite Article | |
|---|---|---|
Masculine | dem Mann | einem Mann |
Feminine | der Frau | einer Frau |
Neuter | dem Kind | einem Kind |
Plural | den Kindern | (no article) |
Der Mann gibt dem Hund das Futter.
The man gives the food to the dog.
Ich schenke einer Freundin Blumen.
I'm giving flowers to a friend.
Object of the Preposition
The dative case can also demonstrate the object of certain prepositions.
Here are some dative prepositions:
Translation | |
|---|---|
von | from, of |
aus | out of, from |
bei | at, near |
mit | with |
seit | since, for |
zu | to |
auĂer | except for |
Ich komme aus dem Haus.
I'm coming out of the house.
Er arbeitet bei einer Firma.
He works for a company.
Genitive Case
The genitive case can mark two things:
Indirect Object
Object of the Preposition
Indirect Object
This case demonstrates possession, and it's similar to possessive "s" in English. You can usually find it by asking "whose"?
Definite and Indefinite Articles for Genitive Case
Definite Article | Indefinite Article | |
|---|---|---|
Masculine | des Mannes | eines Mannes |
Feminine | der Frau | einer Frau |
Neuter | des Buches | eines Buches |
Plural | der Hunder | (no article) |
Das Auto des Mannes ist rot.
The man's car is red.
Der RĂŒcken des Buches ist kaputt.
The spine of the book is broken.
Object of the Preposition
The genitive case can also mark the object of certain prepositions.
Here are some genitive prepositions:
Translation | |
|---|---|
wÀhrend | during |
wegen | because of |
trotz | despite |
statt | instead of |
WĂ€hrend des Konzerts war es still.
During the concert, it was quiet.
Wegen des Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause.
Because of the weather, we are staying home.
Trotz der Warnung schwamm er im See.
Despite the warning, he swam in the lake.
Overview of Definite and Indefinite Articles for All Cases
The table below shows the definite articles for all four cases:
Nom | Acc | Dat | Gen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Masc | der | den | dem | des |
Fem | die | die | der | der |
Neu | das | das | dem | des |
Pul | die | die | den | der |
Der Mann gibt den Ball dem Jungen.
The man gives the ball to the boy.
Der Mann = Nominative | Den Ball = Accusative | Dem Jungen = Dative
Der Vater gibt dem Kind das Geschenk.
The father gives the child the gift.
Der Vater: Nominative |Das Geschenk: Accusative | Dem Kind: Dative
The table below shows the indefinite articles for all four cases:
Nom | Acc | Dat | Gen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Masc | ein | einen | einem | eines |
Fem | eine | eine | einer | einer |
Neu | ein | ein | einem | eines |
Der Lehrer gibt dem SchĂŒler einen Apfel.
The teacher gives the student an apple.
Einen Apfel: Accusative
Die Mutter kauft ihrem Kind ein neues Spielzeug.
The mother buys her child a new toy.
Ein neues Spielzeug: Accusative
Comments
(0)
Recommended
