Hello everyone,
and welcome to a new episode of the epic YourDailyGerman grammar course. Today, with a grammar topic that is so sexy, it’s actually a better fit for German’s OnlyFans account:
German Two-Way-Prepositions Explained
Tssss…. so hot!
Prepositions are these little words like auf or vor or mit and a good portion of those can be followed by Dative AND Accusative, each having a different meaning.
If you’re more of a beginner, then you might be like “Huuhhhh?” and it might not be time for this topic yet.
But it’s definitely a very important thing if you want to sound idiomatic at all, and I have to say… most explanations out there, be it on Youtube or in more formal textbooks, are a little bit off.
Not wrong, but odd.
So yeah, that’s what we’ll look at today. First, I’ll give you the quick version and then I’ll elaborate a bit. And then we’ll wrap it up with an exercise.
Here are the quick links so you can jump around.
- Two Way Prepositions – The Core Rule
- It’s not the Grammar – It’s the Message
- An exercise
And now let’s jump right in.
Two-Way Prepositions – The Core Rule
German has four cases. Why it has them? No one knows. Maybe it thinks its a lawyer or something.
But anyway, the four cases wouldn’t be a problem if German just had them on its desk somewhere. But nope, German really really likes its four cases and it rubs them in our faces all day. And prepositions offer no respite.
It’s not enough that there are several dozen of them and they don’t line up with their similar looking English counterparts. No. German is like “So just FYI… I want a specific case after each preposition.”
Oh, okay, will it be the same case always?
“Of course not, duhhhh.”
Now, for a good portion of the prepositions, the case they go with is fixed. Some go with Accusative, some with Dative and very few go with Genitive. Like, für for instance will ALWAYS be followed by Accusative, no matter what.
But there’s a group of prepositions which can be followed by either one of TWO cases – Accusative and Dative.
Here they are:
- auf – on, onto
- in – in, into
- vor – in front of, forward
- hinter – behind
- über – above, over
- unter – under, among
- an – to, at
- neben – next to
- zwischen – between
And this is an instance where cases actually carry a significant amount of meaning.
Dativetalks about a fixed location. It answers to “At what place?”
Accusative talks about a destination. It answers to “Where is it headed?”
Some sources say that it’s about whether or not we have a movement, but this is NOT really the point. What matters is whether we’re talking about a destination or not.
Let’s do an example:
- Die Tasse steht auf dem Tisch.
- The cup is standing on the table.
Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- Die Tassefälltauf den Tisch.
- The cup falls on the table.
Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
In the first example, we’re talking about where the cup currently is; it is stationary and we’re marking that with Dative. In the second example, the current position of cup doesn’t really matter. It is somewhere mid air. What we want to talk about is where the cup is headed; it’s destination. And we’re marking that with Accusative.
Now, this example was pretty clear because to be is stationary in itself, while fallen is clearly a movement. And that’s how many sources frame it.
But that’s NOT the core of it.
In fact, if you make a mistake with these two way prepositions, it wasn’t about a mistake in grammar… it’s a mistake in “message”.
It’s not “wrong grammar” – It’s “wrong message”
Check out this example:
- Ich joggeim(in dem)Park.
- Ich joggein denPark.
Here, we have the same verb in both examples and it is clearly a movement verb. And yet, we have used Dative in the first version? Isn’t that wrong then?
No, the Dative tells us that whatever happens in that sentence (the jogging) happens at a fixed location: in the park.So, I’m in the park at the beginning of my run, I’m in the park at the end of it. My location relative to park doesn’t change throughout my run.
The Accusative in the second example on the other hand, the park is the destination of my run. I’m not there before the run, I am there after.
So, just because the verb is a movement verb doesn’t mean the case is clear.
And same goes the other way around.
- Ich schreibe auf dem Tisch.
- Ich schreibe auf den Tisch.
Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
Schreiben means to write, so the verb itself is not really a movement verb, this time. But there’s nothing wrong with giving writinga direction either. In the first example, the Dative marks the table as the locationwhere my writing happens. Maybe I sit there and write a letter to someone. In the second example, I’m also at the table writing, but the Accusative marks that the main message this time is that the table is the destination of my writing. I am literally writing onto the table.
Cool.
Now, one more example, again with twist.
- Thomas schläft auf der Couch.
- Thomas schläft auf die Couch.
Did you have a hard time figuring out the meaning of the second one? Well… that’s because
The second versiondoesn’t work.
And the crucial part is that it’s not because the grammar is wrong or anything but simply because it makes absolutely no sense.
You can give sleeping a direction in time …
- Ich schlafe ins neue Jahr.
- I sleep into the new year.
Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
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Here, the Accusative is fine. The new year is the destination of our sleeping.
But unless you’re a poet or something you CAN’T give sleeping a direction in space…
- Traumversunken schlafe ich nach Berlin.
- Sunk in dreams, I sleep to Berlin… meeeeeehhhhhhh, maybe
Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
- “I was sleeping.”
“Cool, where to?”
“From the kitchen onto the couch.”… uh..NOPE
That doesn’t work in English either. In fact, I’d be curious, if there’s any language at all on the planet where you can give sleeping a direction in space (let me know in the comments if you can in your language).
But yeah… so the crossed out example with the Accusative would be called wrong by your teacher. The crucial thing to understand here, is that it’s NOT wrong because of grammar. It’s NOTwrong, because sleeping is not a movement verb, it’sNOT wrong because it’s intransiblahblah… it is wrong because it sounds wrong and it sounds wrong because it is nonsense.
So, the bottom line of all of this is that the case choice we do for the two-way prepositions is not just some annoying bit of grammar. Two-Way Prepositions are a way to get our message across. Using Accusative answers to “where’s it headed”, using Dative to “where is it (happening)” . And making this distinction explicit is a common theme of the German language. German is really anal about spatial information.
The proper choice depends on what you want to say and if something doesn’t work then it doesn’t work because it’s nonsense. And it’s most likely nonsense in other languages, too.
Cool.
Now some of you are probably on the edge of their seat now asking the following:“But, but Emanuel, EMAAAANUELLL… what about stuff like warten auf? How do I know which case to use for those?”
That’s a very good question. German has loads of sort of fixed combos between verbs and prepositions thatdon’t really have anything to do with space or time. And if a verb comes with a two-way preposition, many learners get confused about which case to pick.
We’ll talk about those combos a lot in the individual articles for the prepositions but I can give you atrend right away:
Fixed, abstract verb-preposition combos with two-way preps
tend to take accusative
The local notion of the Dative is very very strong and in many instances, it will sound like you’re actually talking about a location.Here’s the obligatory unicorn example
- Ich warte auf dem Einhorn.
- I’m waiting on top of the unicorn.
- Ich warte auf das Einhorn.
- I’m waiting for the unicorn.
When you think about it, the anticipation that is at the heart of warten is in some way like a directed movement. Mywaiting has a goal, a target. But this is the stuff that we’ll do in the series, so lots of theory fun ahead of us :).
Cool.
So now that we know the how and what about two-way prepositions, all that’s missing are the prepositions themselves. Here they are
vor, hinter,in, auf, unter, über, neben, an, zwischen
There’s really cool, simple way to quickly check if a preposition is two-way or not. If you can “arrange” a cup and a lighter so they “show” the preposition without moving, then it’s two-way.
It doesn’t really work for zwischen, to be honest, but let’s just think of that as poetic license. The lighter can be zwischen the table and the cup.
Cool.
Now theory is all well and good, but practice makes perfect. So to wrap this up, let’s do a little work out.
Exercise
I’ll give you a few sentences and mark the case and you have to decide whether it is a correct sounding sentence and what it means. And if you want, you can also think about whether the other choice would work, too. Here’s an example:
- Ich lege das Buch auf dem Tisch.
We’re using Dative, so auf dem Tisch is marked as the location where the rest of the sentence takes place. That means, that I am laying the book while being on the table. And that doesn’tmake too much sense, right. So this one would be “wrong” and Accusative would be the proper choice here, because it would mark the table as destination of my laying.
So here you go… and be warned, these are pretty tricky :)
- Ich trinke in meinen Geburtstag.
- Ich setze mich in der U-Bahn.
- Die Fliege schwimmt in die Suppe.
- Maria fährt neben dem Jogger.
- Ich lese in das Buch.
- Ichtanze auf der Brücke.
- Ich trinke in die Küche.
- Ich werfe im Wasser.
- Ich lese etwas in die E-Mail.
- Der Busfährt im Winter nicht.
- Das Team liegt hinter den Zeitplan.
- Die Werbung kommt vor dem Video.
- Marias Haar hängt in die Suppe.
- Thomas kotzt vor der Bar.
Practice pronunciation – click once to start recording and again to stop
And here are the solutions – with a little explanation, so you actually know what’s going on :)
- Correct. Dative wouldn’t work because the idiomatic preposition would be “an” for a expressing that something happens on a fixed day
- Textbook explanations suggest that it’s wrong but it isn’t. You can sit down while being in the subway. Accusative would work, too.
- Unless there’s a canal leading into the soup that the fly could swim along, making the soup the destination of the fly’s swimmingmakes little to no sense :)
- It’s correctand Accusative would work as well.
- It’sweird sounding, to say the least. You could understand it as giving the book a little probe reading, but reading in the book would be done with Dative.
- Correct, and Accusative would work as well.
- This doesn’t make any sense. You can’t give drinking a location in space. Dative would be correct here.
- Correct, and Accusative would work as well.
- It’s similar to number 5 but this time, it works because you’re reading something into the mail that isn’t there.
- It’s completely correct. Accusative would only make sense if it’s a lyrical way to say that the bus drives to the far north (where it is winter)
- This is nonsense. Lying is one of those verbs that you cannot give a direction to. When you’re lying, you’re 100% stationary.
- It’s fine. We’re told where the ad is. With accusative it would mean that we’re talking about where to put the ad.
- It’s fine and Dative would work as well. The two are almost the same. The accusative just puts a little focus on the hair reaching into the soup, while Dative is just a plain description of where it is.
- It’s fine and Accusative would work as well.
So how’d you do? How many did you get correct? Was it difficult? I bet you’re having a lot of questions about this now so let’s talk about it in thecomments.
And of course, if you have other questions about any of this or if you want to try out some more examples leave a comment too.
So that’s it for today. This was our look at two-way prepositions and I hope the whole thing is a little clearer now. The case choice is a way to mark something as either destination or location for an event and the difference between right and wrong is mainly what makes sense.And with thiswe’re now well prepared for the upcoming series on prepositions :). It’s not gonna start next week, but it is coming and it is going to be epic.
I hope you liked it today, I wish you a schöne Woche und bis nächstes Mal.
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FAQs
How do two-way prepositions work in German? ›
When using a two-way preposition, you have to put the noun (<– that's in the prepositional phrase) into either the accusative OR dative case dependent on if the location is static (dative) OR if there's a change of position (accusative).
Which German prepositions take accusative or dative? ›...
Two-Way Prepositions.
| An | to, on |
|---|---|
| In | in, into |
| Neben | next to |
| Von | from, of |
| Zu | to |
Two-way prepositions are prepositions which take either the accusative or the dative case. Depending on the context, you will need to choose the accusative or dative case after the two-way prepositions.
How do you know when to use accusative or dative in German? ›The accusative case is for direct objects. The direct object is the person or thing that receives the action. So in “the girl kicks the ball”, “the ball” is the direct object. The dative case is for indirect objects.
What is the difference between accusative and dative in German? ›In the simplest terms, the accusative is the direct object that receives the direct impact of the verb's action, while the dative is an object that is subject to the verb's impact in an indirect or incidental manner.
Can two prepositions be used together? ›Double Preposition: When two prepositions are used together, they are called Double Prepositions. Sometimes a Compound Preposition is formed by joining two words, but unlike that, Double Prepositions are always two separate words. My son emerged from behind the curtains to scare me.
What German prepositions always take dative? ›Again, there are 9 prepositions that are always dative: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber.
What German prepositions are always accusative? ›The 5 German prepositions that always require that the noun in the phrase be in the accusative case are durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. Prepositions do NOT have tidy 1-to-1 English-German translations and must be learned within authentic spoken/written German context.
How do you know if a sentence is nominative or accusative or Dativ? ›Review: the endings on a word indicate which case it belongs to. In turn, the case indicates what function the word is performing in the sentence, whether it is the subject (nominative), the direct object (accusative), the indirect object or object of a preposition (dative), or if it is a possessive (genitive) form.
What is the example of 2 preposition? ›The double preposition is a proposition that is made by combining two simple prepositions. For example, the phrase "out of" would be a double preposition, since both "out" and "of" are simple prepositions. That is more or less all there is to it.
Why are they called two way prepositions? ›
As the name two-case prepositions might give away already, these tiny little words can be followed by either of the two cases above: Akkusativ or Dativ. This is also why they are often called two way prepositions.
What is a simple sentence with 2 prepositions? ›- He was too deeply engrossed in the activity.
- The prestige of a nation lies upon its citizens.
- He climbed onto the chair.
- She was laughing throughout the movie.
- He would not be able to make it without you.
- The book is inside my bag.
- We ran out of fuel.
Many dative prepositions are common vocabulary in German, such as nach (after, to), von (by, of) and mit (with). It's hard to speak without them. Simply put, dative prepositions are governed by the dative case. That is, they are followed by a noun or take an object in the dative case.
What comes first dative or accusative? ›The dative object will always come before the accusative object. If the accusative object is a pronoun, it will always be before the dative object.
What German verbs always take the dative case? ›The following verbs are always used with the dative case: sagen (“to say” - when introducing the person spoken to), helfen (to help), gefallen (to like, to please), gehören (to belong), schmecken (to taste), danken (to thank), antworten (to reply to), glauben (to believe). Maria glaubt dem Kind.
What is dative in German examples? ›Some German verbs always take a dative noun (or pronoun) as their object, even if the English sentence suggests a direct object. What is this? For example, helfen (“to help”) and danken (“to thank”) are two such verbs: Er kann dir nicht helfen.
Why do we use dative in German? ›You use the dative case for the indirect object in a sentence. The indirect object is the person or thing to or for whom something is done.
What is the accusative rule in German? ›The accusative case, akkusativ, is the one that is used to convey the direct object of a sentence; the person or thing being affected by the action carried out by the subject.
How do you use multiple prepositions in one sentence? ›A string of multiple prepositions in a single sentence can make the text choppy and potentially confusing for your audience, and especially for an international audience. In particular, the Chicago Manual of Style (subscription required) recommends the use of one preposition per 10-15 words.
What should be avoided when using prepositions? ›Avoid Using Prepositions at the End of Sentences
Because prepositions must be followed by a noun and have an object, they should rarely be placed at the end of a sentence. For example, it's generally not correct to say: #a. The table is where I put my books on.
What is one important rule for using prepositions? ›
When using a preposition, it is necessary to have the subject and verb before it and should be followed by a noun. Never follow a preposition with a verb.
How do you remember German prepositions? ›The solution to this problem are mnemonics: For the prepositions with accusative it's an artificial word: FUDGO. It's composed of the first letter of each of the 5 most important prepositions in the following order: für, um, durch, gegen, ohne.
What is the dative rule in German? ›In general, the dative (German: Dativ) is used to mark the indirect object of a German sentence. For example: Ich schickte dem Mann(e) das Buch. (literally: I sent "to the man" the book.)
What are the 7 dative prepositions? ›- aus – out of, from.
- bei – at, amongst, with (like 'chez' in French)
- mit – with.
- nach – after; to (country)
- seit – since.
- von – from, of.
- zu – to, at.
- gegenüber (von) – opposite.
In German, using prepositions is more complicated because of German's case system. German prepositions affect the case of the noun that follows them. There are four German cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. Most German sentences include at least one case.
Is haben always accusative? ›We use the Accusative Case always after the Verb „haben“. That's because „haben“ always needs the direct object!
How many sets of German prepositions are there? ›Then let's learn the 4 types of German prepositions: accusative, dative, genitive, and two-way!
What is the best way to learn German cases? ›The best way to better understand German cases is to practice! I highly recommend you start with diagramming sentences in German. Take your time to determine the case of each noun (pronoun, etc.) in your study sentences, and why they're in that particular case.
Is über accusative or dative? ›Grammatically, über belongs to that set of German prepositions that can govern either the accusative case or the dative case ("an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen"). The choice is determined by whether the prepositional phrase indicates movement (accusative) or an unmoving state (dative).
How can you tell the difference between Nominativ and Akkusativ? ›Nominative case is the case used for a noun or pronoun which is the subject of a verb. Accusative case is the case used for a noun or pronoun which is the object of a sentence.
What are the 2 most common prepositions? ›
Most English speaking people recall only a handful of common prepositions, but in reality, there are about 150 different prepositions. Three of these prepositions are in the top ten most commonly used words in the English language: of, to, and in.
Which verb is used with two prepositions? ›Multiple preposition verbs
There are many prepositional verbs that take two prepositions: to put up with (something, someone) — to tolerate someone. to go out with — to accompany someone. to go off on (a digression, an adventure) — to begin, to start.
Other prepositions of movement add specific context to the movement, such as, across, through, into, over, down, up, past and around.
What are the 9 German prepositions? ›- aus (from, out of)
- außer (except for, besides)
- bei (at, near, by)
- mit (with, by means of)
- nach (after, to, according to)
- seit (since, for)
- von (from, by, of, about)
- zu (to)
An accusative preposition will always be followed by an object (a noun or pronoun) in the accusative case.
Which case follows the German preposition in? ›| German Two-Way Preposition | English Translation |
|---|---|
| hinter | behind |
| in | into, to [accusative]; in [dative] |
| neben | next to [in close proximity] |
| über | above, over; about [as in a topic] |
When your introductory phrase actually contains two prepositional phrases, it's best to use a comma.
Can you start a sentence with two prepositional phrases? ›There is no rule about starting sentences with prepositional phrases. Starting sentences with prepositions isn't good or bad. It's a common feature of our language. The only thing to avoid is overusing it, even if its grammatically correct.
What are the 4 main types of prepositions? ›They are simple, double, compound, participle, and phrase prepositions. A preposition is used to show a relationship between the noun, pronoun, or phrases in a sentence.
How do dative verbs work in German? ›Verbs in the Dative Case. Most German verbs take direct objects when direct objects are necessary. These direct objects are generally in the accusative case. In sentences with dative verbs, German sentence construction places an indirect object such as mir (to me) in place of a direct object such as mich (me).
What is the question word dative in German? ›
In German the dative is also called der Wemfall, so the question words for the dative are to whom (“wem”) or what (“was”). The woman gives a kiss to whom? The woman gives a kiss to the man. The man is dative.
How do you know if a word is dative? ›Dative of Reference / Benefaction
These are verbs that must have a direct object (accusative) receiving the action from the subject (e.g. I open the door), but optionally may reference whom/what is affected by that action (e.g. I open the door for my mother), which is then put into the dative.
Rules for the Dative Case
When there are two objects (direct and indirect): a dative noun precedes an accusative noun; an accusative pronoun precedes a dative pronoun; and a pronoun always a noun: Ich gebe dem Mann ein Buch. (I give the man a book.)
Besides, there are several verbs which always ask for an Accusative object for instance: lieben, fragen, essen, kaufen, kennen, lernen, mögen, machen, möchten, kosten or hängen, legen, stellen, setzen.
How many verbs take dative? ›A “true” dative verb is one that takes a dative object without an accusative object, and there are only about 50 of them.
What are two examples of dative case? ›The indirect object receives the direct object. Dative Case Examples: He gave an assignment to me. He wrote the letter for her.
What is the 2 verb rule in German? ›Two Verbs In A Sentence
When you have two verbs in a German sentence, you place the conjugated verb in the second position and the unconjugated verb at the end of the sentence. Note – A conjugated verb is a verb that changes to indicate the gender, tense, number, person or other aspects of the sentence.
Coordinating conjunctions are the most frequent way to link the independent clauses that are part of a compound sentence. The most common are und, aber, oder, sondern, and denn.
How do you use prepositions in German grammar? ›German prepositions include words like bis, mit, über and durch. They're words that go before a noun (or pronoun) to provide extra information — usually something about the noun's position in time or space. Examples of English prepositions include “until”, “with” and “before”.
What is the double infinitive rule in German? ›When the modal verb is associated with another verb in the sentence, we need to form a double infinitive, with the modal verb in the infinitive at the very end, preceded by the other verb in the infinitive. Examples: Ich habe ihn gestern anrufen müssen. I have had to call him yesterday.
Is German conjugation difficult? ›
German Verb Conjugation Isn't As Hard As It May Seem
Although German verb conjugation may appear difficult at first, looks can be deceiving. Most German verbs follow regular rules with simple endings that can be learned quickly. Daily practice and repetition will help you learn these concepts faster.
The German accusative is used for the direct object of a sentence. The direct object is a person, animal or thing the action of the sentence is happening to, or being acted upon.
Is it difficult to learn Germany? ›With plenty of straightforward rules, German is not actually as hard to learn as most people think. And since English and German stem from the same language family, you might actually be surprised at the things you pick up without even trying! And on top of it all, it's definitely a useful one, too.
What is the rule for German sentence structure? ›The basic German sentence order is SVO: subject, verb, object. The verb, the main verb or the conjugated part of the verb is always the second element of the sentence. If the subject does not precede the verb, main verb or conjugated part, it must follow it immediately.
What are the dative prepositions in German? ›Again, there are 9 prepositions that are always dative: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber.
What are the two dots German? ›/ˈʊmlaʊt/ If you've ever studied German, you've seen an umlaut. It's a mark that looks like two dots over a letter, and it signifies a shift in pronunciation.
What prepositions are used with Dativ? ›- aus – out of, from.
- bei – at, amongst, with (like 'chez' in French)
- mit – with.
- nach – after; to (country)
- seit – since.
- von – from, of.
- zu – to, at.
- gegenüber (von) – opposite.
Prepositions in the English language indicate the relationship of a noun or pronoun to something. When using a preposition, it is necessary to have the subject and verb before it and should be followed by a noun. Never follow a preposition with a verb.
How many accusative prepositions are there in German? ›Accusative Prepositions Examples. Again, there are 5 prepositions that are always accusative: Note that in the following examples…
How do you combine two words in German? ›- In German, as in English, we can combine several words to create a new noun. ...
- There are several ways to form compound words: ...
- Many nouns ending in -tum, -ing, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ung, -ät and infinitives used as nouns are joined with an -s- in between them. ...
- Some nouns are joined with -n-:
How do you use two infinitives in a sentence? ›
You can also use multiple infinitives in a single sentence: “Today, I plan to run three miles, to clean my room, and to update my budget.” All three of these infinitives follow the verb plan. Other verbs that often come before infinitives include want, convince, try, able, and like.
Do you use infinitive with or without zu in German? ›When do you use the infinitive in German? - Easy Learning Grammar German. In German, the infinitive is the -en form of the verb, for example, machen, and is the form you look up in a dictionary. The infinitive is used with zu: after other verbs.