German grammar · Beginner (A1)
Cases: nominative and accusative
Why der sometimes becomes den: how German shows who does what, and which prepositions always take the accusative.
What is a case?
German articles change their form depending on the job a noun does in the sentence. These forms are called cases.
The nominative is for the subject, the person or thing doing the action. The accusative is for the direct object, the person or thing the action is done to. In (The man buys a hat), is the subject and is the direct object.
- Der Mann kauft einen Hut.The man buys a hat.
- Die Frau trinkt einen Tee.The woman drinks a tea.
Only the masculine changes
Good news: in the accusative, only masculine articles change. becomes , becomes , and becomes . Feminine, neuter and plural stay the same as in the nominative.
| Case | masculine | feminine | neuter | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | / | / | / | / – |
| accusative | / | / | / | / – |
- Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester.I have a brother and a sister.
- Wir nehmen den Zug.We're taking the train.
- Ich suche das Hotel.I'm looking for the hotel.
- Es gibt einen Park in der Nähe.There's a park nearby.
Word order is more flexible
Because the article shows who does what, German can put the object first to stress it. The meaning stays the same: the verb is still second, and still marks the object.
- Der Hund sieht den Mann.The dog sees the man.
- Den Mann sieht der Hund.The dog sees the man. (stress on “the man”)
Prepositions with the accusative
Five common prepositions are always followed by the accusative: (through), (for), (against), (without) and (around, at a time). Some learners remember them as “DOGFU”.
- Das Geschenk ist für meinen Vater.The present is for my father.
- Wir gehen durch den Park.We're walking through the park.
- Ich trinke Kaffee ohne Zucker.I drink coffee without sugar.
- Der Film beginnt um acht Uhr.The film starts at eight o'clock.