In this lesson, you will learn all about German prepositions with the dative and accusative e.g. the prepositions governing accusative or dative case. We use these prepositions sometimes with the dative, and sometimes with the accusative. You will learn in which situations we use prepositions with the dative and in which with the accusative. The rules are simple, you just have to learn them😎.
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Prepositions governing the accusative or the dative case
Accusative
Dative
Verbs with dative and accusative
Prepositions governing the accusative or the dative case
Nine prepositions govern the accusative OR the dative depending on the meaning in context: an • hinter • neben • unter • zwischen • auf • in • über • vor.
These nine prepositions govern the accusative case if they indicate direction, but the dative case if they indicate position.
ACCUSATIVE
Prepositions with the accusative answer the question Wohin? ( Where to?) and express a change of place, movement or direction.
For example:
Wohin gehst du? – Where are you going?
– Ich gehe ins Theater.
– Ich gehe vor das Theater.
It is often claimed that the accusative case is used with these prepositions when motion is involved, but it is more precise to say that the accusative case is used with a phrase expressing the direction in which someone or something is moving or being put, whilst the dative case normally indicates that someone or something is stationary.
For example:
Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. – I’m hanging the picture on the wall.
Das Bild hängt an der Wand. – The picture is hanging on the wall.
Er geht in das Esszimmer hinein. – He goes into that room.
Er isst in dem Esszimmer. – We eat in that room.
The dative case is sometimes used when a direction is involved. In contexts like this there is no movement in relation to the person or thing in the prepositional phrase.
For example:
Sie geht neben seinem Mann. She is walking next to her husband. (She and her husband are moving with equal speed in the same direction)
Unser Flugzeug kreist über der Stadt. Our plane is circling over the town. (Though it is moving, it stays over the town
DATIVE
Prepositions with the dative answer the question Wo? (where?) and express that someone or something is in one place.
For example:
Wo bist du?– Where are you?
– Ich bin im Theater.
– Ich bin vor dem Theater.
The dative is used with verbs of arriving, appearing and disappearing.
Er kam am Bahnhof an. – He arrived at the station.
Das alte Radio landete auf dem Müll. – The old radio ended up in the bin.
Sie erschien hinter der Theke. – She appeared behind the counter.
Er verbarg eine Waffe unter seinem Mantel. – He hid a weapon under his coat.
Der Wagen verschwand hinter dem Berg. – The car disappeared behind the hill.
German does not consider such verbs to indicate a direction, so in the last example, the hill is perceived as the place where the car disappeared. However, there can be times when the speaker perceives there to be movement in a particular direction with these verbs and uses the accusative.
We CANNOT use them AT THE SAME TIME, that’s why they are called in German: Wechselpräpositionen, that is, Alternating Prepositions.
Have a look at the table with the examples for the dative and accusative.
| wo? – dative | wohin? – accusative | |
| in ( in) | Wir sind im Schwimmbad | Wir gehen ins Schwimmbad. |
| an (on/ vertically) | Das Bild hängt an der Wand. | Siehängtdas Bildan dieWand. |
| auf (on/ horizontal) | Die Lampe steht auf dem Tisch. | Sie stellt die Lampe auf den Tisch, |
| über ( about) | Das Poster hängt über dem Bett. | Sie hängtdas Poster über dem Bett. |
| unter (under) | Das Kind sitzt unter dem Tisch. | Das Kind setzt sichunter den Tisch. |
| hinter(behind) | Das Fahrrad ist hinter dem Haus. | Ich stelle das Fahrrad hinter das Haus. |
| neben (beisde) | Mia sitzt neben dem Kollegen. | Sie setzt sich neben den Kollegen. |
| vor(in front of) | Das Fahrrad steht vor dem Haus. | Ich stelle mein Fahrrad vor das Haus. |
| zwischen (between) | Die Bank ist zwischen dem Kino und der Apotheke. | Er setzt sich zwischen seinen Vater und seine Oma. |
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Grammar Contents
Verbs with dative and accusative cases
To the question word wohin ( where to?) often are used verbs such as following: stellen, setzen, legen, hängen + alternating prepositions with the ACCUSATIVE.
These verbs belong to the regular verbs.
For example:
Ich stelle/ stellte die Lampe auf den Tisch. – I put/put the lamp on the table.
Ich setze/ setzte mich auf das Sofa. – I sit/ sat down on the sofa.
Ich lege/ legte das Handy auf den Tisch. – I put/put the cell phone on the table.
Ich hänge/ hängte das Bild an die Wand. – I hung/hang the picture on the wall.
* stellen – this verb is used when we put something upright somewhere
* legen means to lay down, to put something in a lying position.
For example:
Ich sellte die Bücher auf den Tisch.
Ich legte das Buch auf den Tisch. 
To the question word wo (where) the following verbs are often used: stehen, sitzen, liegen, hängen + alternating prepositions with the DATIVE.
These verbs are IRREGULAR.
For example:
Die Lampe steht/ stand auf dem Tisch. – The lamp is/was on the table.
Ich sitze/ saß auf dem Sofa. – I sit/sat on the sofa.
Das Handy liegt/ lag auf dem Tisch. – The cell phone is/was on the table.
Das Bild hängt/ hing an der Wand. – The picture hangs/hung on the wall.
*hängen – there are two verbs hängen, regular and irregular.
The German verb “hängen” is conjugated as “hängen, hängte, h. gehängt,” which corresponds to the English verb “to hang.” It is used to describe the action of hanging something.
Wir haben das Bild an die Wand gehängt. – We hung the picture on the wall.
Ich habe die Wäsche auf die Leine gehängt. – I hung the washing on the line.
Er hängte eine Notiz ans Schwarze Brett. – He put a note on the notice board.
The Verb “hängen, hing, b/h. gehangen” corresponds to the English verb “to hang”, but in German, it is an irregular verb used to describe something that is hanging.
Die Wäsche hängt zum Trocknen an der Leine. – The laundry is hanging on the line to dry.
Das Bild hängt an der Wand. – The picture hangs on the wall.
Der Mantel hängt auf dem Kleiderbügel. – The coat hangs on the hanger.
Both variants in the present have the same shape.
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