German Cases Practice: Accusative and Dative
The four German cases – nominative, accusative, dative and genitive – show the role of a noun in a sentence. For everyday German, the accusative and the dative are the most important, and they cause the most mistakes.
This exercise has 30 questions on accusative objects, dative verbs, prepositions with a fixed case, two-way prepositions and pronouns. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so you learn the rule, not just the answer.
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German Articles in Every Case
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der / ein / kein | die / eine / keine | das / ein / kein | die / – / keine |
| Accusative | den / einen / keinen | die / eine / keine | das / ein / kein | die / – / keine |
| Dative | dem / einem / keinem | der / einer / keiner | dem / einem / keinem | den / – / keinen (+ -n on the noun) |
Possessive articles (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer) take the same endings as ein / kein.
Prepositions and Their Cases
| Case | Prepositions | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Always accusative | durch, für, gegen, ohne, um | Das ist für meinen Bruder. |
| Always dative | aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu | Ich fahre mit dem Bus. |
| Two-way (Wo? → dative, Wohin? → accusative) | an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen | Ich gehe in die Mensa. / Ich esse in der Mensa. |
Common Dative Verbs
Most verbs take an accusative object, but some important verbs always take the dative: helfen, danken, antworten, gefallen, gehören, gratulieren, schmecken, passen, fehlen. Example: Ich helfe meinem Mitbewohner.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I need accusative or dative?
Ask two questions: does the verb or preposition always take one case? If not, ask “Wo?” (location → dative) or “Wohin?” (direction → accusative).
Do I need the genitive at A1?
Hardly. In spoken German the genitive is often replaced by “von + dative”. You will meet it more at B1 and in written texts.
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