So, lets use an example phrase to illustrate the german accusative. The german cases explained in 5 steps i will teach you a. Now it might help you if you know what the term case means. Accusative case in german grammar complete declension tables. Learn german grammar you will learn the accusative case akkusativ and how to use the accusative objects in sentences in the german language.
The present volume is a companion to my book the german language a. The four german cases are nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. If the subject of a sentence is doing something to someone, that someone or something becomes the object of the sentence. In the free online exercises, you can practise what you have learnt. The accusative case and dative case are identical in english. German has dative, accusative, genitive and twoway prepositions and postpositions. First of all, we have to understand what the german accusative case actually is. The characteristics of an accusative case often entails such as in latin what generally is termed the nominative case. The accusative case of nouns a foundation course in. German cases, nominative, accusative, dative, genitive. The summary on this page will help you learn which verbs and prepositions require which german case. In this way and this way only, the accusative case in english and german are the same. The accusative case, also called the accusative object or direct object, is used for the thing or person receiving the direct action of a verb. For these exercises, choose the correct preposition out of the four options.
How can i identify the direct object of a sentence. If so, this should be easy, since the preposition determines the case. Every pronoun can take the nominative or any of the other cases. If the noun or pronoun is a subject, it takes the nominative case.
Ein journalist fragte vor kurzem ein jungen nach seinen hobbys. A bone is a direct object, meaning the object to which the action is being done in a sentence. If you are not sure go back to basic lesson no 1 german articles. German grammar exercises about cases and declension. This is why it is more important to learn the verbs with dative or with. Accusative case depicts the direct object that is referred to by the noun or pronoun in a sentence. The german accusative case is used when the nounpronoun is the direct object of the sentence, that is, the person or thing affected by the action or the verb. German language grammar rules useful to the student working. In english this is often indicated by the words to or for. The accusative case called the objective case in english grammar will most likely be encountered when studying a foreign language. A very few singular nouns add an n or en in the accusative, dative, and genitive cases.
Accusative definition and meaning collins english dictionary. A new book ein neues buch is the direct object and is replaced with the neutral accusative pronoun es to agree in gender. Germangrammarcases wikibooks, open books for an open world. Because word order is freer in german grammar, we use the accusative case to mark the direct object in a sentence. Most personal pronouns in the accusative have a different form from the nominative, but some stay the same. In this example anna is the direct object, paul is the subject and loves is the action. For example, when a personal pronoun comes after a preposition or a verb that takes the accusative, it will also be in the accusative.
The pdf e book and 127 mp3s recorded by two native speakers most of which are not online are available for immediate download with free lifetime. Verbs with a double accusative complement need, in addition to a noun in nominative, another person and an object in order to make sense. Gateway course, there is a german reference grammar available. Over 100,000 german translations of english words and phrases. Does the noun follow either an accusative or a dative preposition. As you know you can use the questions who wer or what was in the nominative case to find out what the subject of the sentence is. Two german pronouns use the same form in both the accusative and the dative uns and euch. The cases are an important part of german grammar as they are responsible for the endings of adjectives, indefinite articles and when to use which personal pronoun. F hardstem nouns take u in the sg and softstem nouns have i. M inanim and n nouns are the same in the nominative and accusative in both sg and pl. They are mich, dich, ihn, sie, es, uns, euch, sie and sie. The accusative case is the grammatical case which marks the direct object of a transitive verb. Grammar hero includes a number of short stories dedicated exclusively to help you. In addition, german employs different cases to define and describe the noun, pronoun or adjective in the sentence.
Twoway prepositions cause the adverbial expression to take the accusative case if the verb indicates an action or movement, and the dative case if the verb. Prepositions with the accusative and dative in german, prepositions determine the case of nouns and pronouns they occur with. The direct object is him which is also the accusative case of this sentence. Some prepositions always require their object to be in the accusative case. The basics what you need to know to start getting the hang of german accusative pronouns. Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a curious student who wished to learn german. The accusative case, also called the accusative object or direct object 4. In the sentence the woman sees him, him is the object so, in english we use different forms of the pronoun. Accusative pronouns, akkusativpronomen, are used in place of nouns that are in the accusative case. In german, this is introduced by the accusative case. In german, neither the neuter es nor feminine sie changes. Fallwenfall in german, follows certain verbs and prepositions. The accusative can be an object a person a pronoun this table shows you some examples how to ask for the accusative case in german. Accusative case simple english wikipedia, the free.
Luckily, specific verbs and prepositions tell us which case to use. It is used for the thing or person receiving the direct action of a verb. Close your book and listen to the conversation in german. You probably have a few questions at the moment regarding the german accusative case, such as. I give the book to him, i is the subject of the sentence, the book is the. Only one answer will both fit the context of the sentence and require the accusative case. The worksheet can be printed with or without an answer key. Most prepositions are always used with the same case accusative, dative or genitive, but there is a group of common prepositions that are sometimes used with the accusative and sometimes with the dative.
The double accusative complement is rare and avoided when possible. With a trusty german textbook in one hand and fluentu in the other, this knowledgeseeking apprentice journeyed far and wide, becoming more fluent with each passing day though the path grew treacherous and the grammar loomed mighty, none could topple the students determination. On the most basic level, the accusative case is used as the marker for direct objects. Except for the masculine gender, endings in the accusative case are exactly similar to those in the nominative case. German accusative case learn german online for free. Germangrammarprepositions and postpositions wikibooks.
Almost all the verbs have, in addition to the subject, an accusative or dative complement a. Each preposition causes the adverbial expression on which it acts to take the case of the preposition. The accusative, dative and genitive cases are often difficult for german learners to recognize. How the german cases work nominative, accusative, dative. Most frequently, it is used with objects and after specific prepositions. Right, lets get stuck into the heart of the german language, the cases. The 34 most important german verbs with dative and. German translation of accusative the official collins englishgerman dictionary online. But in the dative case, all of the pronouns take on uniquely. The accusative case abbreviated acc is a linguistics term for a grammatical case relating to how some languages typically mark a direct object of a transitive verb. After these prepositions, you need to use all articles, pronouns and adjectives in the accusative case. The accusative case is usually used for a person or thing that is directly affected by the action.
German accusative case learn about the accusative case in german. M anim nouns take a genitivelike ending in the accusative sg and a regular nonanimate ending in the accusative pl that is, in the accusative pl, they look like inanimate nouns. Other personal pronouns, like ich and mich i and me or wir and uns we and us, bear a closer resemblance to english. The direct object of a sentence is always in the accusative case in german and will generally receive the action of the verb. Here is a short repetition of the definite articles. For example, in the sentence i saw her, her is in the accusative case.
Certain german prepositions are governed by the accusative case. The biggest difference between german personal pronouns and english personal pronouns is that you have to distinguish among three ways to say you. If the noun is an object, it takes either the accusative, dative or genitive case. Because word order is freer in german grammar, we use the accusative case to mark the direct object in a sentence by changing the article of masculine nouns and adding nen to some nouns. What is the accusative case in german the accusative case is used as the direct object in the sentence and forms the answer to the questions. Nominative, accusative and dative forms in german language. Our website speak7 helps you learn german cases, nominative case, accusative, german dative, and genitive case, as well as grammar, vocabulary, and. In simple words, accusative case show the direct object represented by a noun or a pronoun. These cases are the nominative, accusative, dative and. German cases accusative, dative, nominative and genitive. The thirdperson pronouns he, she, or it follow the rule that only the masculine gender shows any change in the accusative case. In english, we can sometimes split hairs and talk about accusative vs. The pdf ebook and 127 mp3s recorded by two native speakers most of which are not.
Presentation of grammar the book explains the essentials of german. If youve read my overview guide on personal pronouns, you know that pronouns are little words that replace nouns or entire noun phrases, e. Learn the most important verbs that require the accusative. Among those languages, analogous marking principles often apply to the objects of some or all prepositions.
Many verbs need an object for the clause to make sense. Up until now weve been using the accusative for things that are the direct object in a sentence. In the sentence he sees the woman, he is the subject of the sentence. The accusative case is used to show the direct object of a verb. Genitive, dative or accusative recognizing german cases. Guess 75% of all article correctly with my article trick. Accusative case declension of nouns in german grammar.
The questions for the accusative are whom wen or what was. In german, just as in english, the accusative case is used primarily for the direct objects of sentences. In the grammar of some languages, the accusative, or the accusative case, is the case. The endings of possessive articles are like those of the indefinite article ein and the negative article kein the endings depend on the noun that comes after the possessive article, i. Just make sure you know which prepositions take the accusative dogfu and. Do you remember what you learned in lesson no 2 about the indefinite articles ein and eine and have you been repeating lesson no 14 first contact with nominative and accusative. But theres another time youll use the accusative case. In the above example, i is the subject and miss is the verb. Whenever you feel ready for a selfassessment, try answering these quiz and worksheet questions on the german accusative case. Indefinite articles type in articles and nouns in the accusative.
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