The German Case System

This presentation will help you to choose the correct word for “the” “a”, “not a” or

“my” when writing German.

Answer each question by clicking on the hyperlink buttons, until you arrive at the

word you need.

Click here to start

Is the word you are using after a preposition?

Prepositions:

• until, through, for, against, without, around, along

• on, onto, behind, in, into, next to, by, over, above, under, beneath, before, in front of, between

• out of, by, with, after, since, of, from, to, opposite

• in spite of, because of, instead of

YES NO

Nominative Casem. f. nt. pl.

der die das die

ein

kein

mein

eine

keine

meine

ein

kein

mein

-

keine

meine

Accusative Casem. f. nt. pl.

den die das die

einen

keinen

meinen

eine

keine

meine

ein

kein

mein

-

keine

keine

NB: in + das is normally written as ins

Dative Casem. f. nt. pl.

dem der dem den

einem

keinem

meinem

einer

keiner

meiner

einem

keinem

meinem

-

keinen

meinen

NB: in + dem is normally written as im; an + dem is normally written as am;

Genitive Casem. f. nt. pl.

des der des der

eines

keines

meines

einer

keiner

meiner

eines

keines

meines

-

keiner

meiner

Is the noun you are using before or after the verb “to be”?

Examples

Noun before “sein” (to be) : The answer is complicated.

Noun after “sein” (to be) : He is my father.

YES NO

Is the noun you are using the subject of the sentence?

The subject is the “doer” of the action.

Examples

The man buys the dog.

The dog chews a stick.

YES NO

Is the noun you are using the direct object of the sentence?

The direct object is the object of the action.

Examples

The man buys the dog.

The dog chews a stick.

YES NO

Is the noun you are using the indirect object of the sentence?

The indirect object often translates the idea of “to” or “for” even if we don’t bother to use those words (ie it denotes the beneficiary of the action.

Examples

I am buying my mother a present. (ie I am buying a present for my mother.

I gave my brother ten quid. (ie I gave ten quid to my brother.)

YES NO

Is the noun you are using the after folgen, helfen or begegnen?

In German the indirect object is used after the verbs to follow, to help and to meet / bump into .

YES NO

Are you indicating possession or translating “ of ” or “ …’s ”?

Examples

My friend’s house (ie the house of my friend)

My sister’s boyfriend. (ie the boyfriend of my sister.)

YES NO

Are you using bis, durch, für, gegen, wider, ohne, um, or entlang?

Meanings:

bis - until; durch - through; für - for; gegen - against; wider - against; ohne - without; um - around; entlang - along

YES NO

Are you using an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über unter, vor, or zwischen?

Meanings:

an - on, at; auf - on; hinter - behind; in - in, into; neben - next to, by; über - over, above; unter - under, beneath; vor - before, in front of; zwischen - between

YES NO

Does the prepositon convey a sense of movement from A to B or does it emphasise location?

What???

“I ran behind the tree.”: “behind” conveys a sense of movement from on place to another (A to B).

“I stood behind the tree.” : “behind” emphasises location (no movement from A to B).

A to B Location

Are you using aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, or gegenüber (von)?

Meanings:

aus - out of, from; bei - near, by; mit - with; nach - after; seit - since; von - of, from, by; zu - to; gegenüber / gegenüber von - opposite

YES NO

Are you using trotz, wegen, or statt?

Meanings:

trotz - in spite of; wegen - because of; statt - instead of

YES NO