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Prepositions (Präpositionen)

Prepositions are words that show the relationship between nouns (or pronouns) and other words in a sentence. In German, prepositions are always followed by a specific case: accusative, dative, genitive, or (rarely) nominative.

Types of Prepositions

  • Accusative prepositions: always take the accusative case (e.g., durch, für, gegen, ohne, um)
  • Dative prepositions: always take the dative case (e.g., aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu)
  • Genitive prepositions: always take the genitive case (e.g., während, wegen, trotz, statt)
  • Two-way prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen): take accusative or dative depending on movement or location (e.g., an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen)

Examples

  • Ich gehe durch den Park. (I walk through the park.) – accusative
  • Er wohnt bei seinen Eltern. (He lives with his parents.) – dative
  • Wegen des Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause. (Because of the weather, we stay at home.) – genitive
  • Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book is on the table.) – dative (location)
  • Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. (I put the book onto the table.) – accusative (movement)

Tips

  • Always learn prepositions together with the case they require.
  • Some prepositions can have different meanings depending on context.
  • Spoken German often uses dative instead of genitive with some prepositions.

For a full list of prepositions and more examples, see a dedicated grammar resource or textbook.