Cases in German

Nouns and determiners are declined into one of four different grammatical cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive.

English Comparison

While grammatical cases aren't as apparent in English as it is in German, there are still some remnants of a case system still being used, most notably in the personal pronouns. English speakers may have learned this as certain pronouns having a subjective form and an objective form. For example, native English speakers would instinctively know when to use the objective pronoun them versus its subjective form they. Much like how English has different forms for different cases in its pronouns (I/me, he/him, we/us), so does German (ich/mich/mir/meiner, er/ihn/ihm/seiner, wir/uns/uns/unser). While in English, case declension only applies to some pronouns, German takes it a step further and applies it to essentially all determiners (i.e. articles, adjectives, et al.), as well as most nouns and all pronouns.

Definite articles (the)

Indefinite articles (a/an)

Personal Pronouns

Der Nominativ (The Nominative Case)

The nominative case is probably the easiest to understand as it is almost always the most basic form of the word. Whenever you learn a new noun or try to look up a noun in the dictionary, it will likely be in the nominative case. Aside from that, the most common use of the nominative case is when it is the subject of a sentence or clause.

Der Hund sieht die Katze.

The dog sees the cat.

In the above example, der Hund is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence. One benefit of using grammatical cases is that it makes word order much more flexible in German. So what that means is we can switch the positions of the two noun phrases in this sentence and it will still mean the same thing.

Die Katze sieht der Hund.

The dog sees the cat.

Even though the noun phrases are switched, der Hund is still in its nominative form, so it is still the subject of the sentence. However, even though it is possible to do so unambiguously in this example, that won't always be the case. Many accusative forms will look exactly the same as their nominative forms, especially for feminine and neuter nouns. The masculine noun der Hund and its accusative counterpart den Hund are visibly different, but the feminine and neuter nouns die Katze and das Pferd look the same as their accusative counterparts die Katze and das Pferd.

Die Katze sieht das Pferd.

The cat sees the horse.

Die Katze sieht das Pferd.

The horse sees the cat.

Both sentences above look the same, but are being interpreted differently. Both interpretations give equally valid scenarios. While it is theoretically possible for this sentence to be considered ambiguous, German speakers would generally stick to the first interpretation where the subject comes before the object. Given no other context, that would be the correct way to interpret this sentence, and many would simply consider the second interpretation to just be incorrect in almost any context.

Das Wasser trinkt die Frau.

The water drinks the woman.

Das Wasser trinkt die Frau.

The woman drinks the water.

The sentence above also has two different interpretations, but the first one describes a very unlikely scenario. A native German speaker would likely interpret it using the second interpretation, but will have a moment of confusion as the phrasing sounds a bit unnatural. At this point, even though it's grammatically correct, writing sentences in this way is generally not a good idea unless you have a good reason, and so you should try to avoid it whenever you can.

Another use for the nominative case is when a noun phrase is the predicate of a "nominative verb" like sein (to be) or werden (to become).

Ich bin ein Mann.

I am a man.

Sie ist eine Lehrerin.

She is a teacher.

Der Mann wird ein Pilot.

The man is becoming a pilot.

Ihr seid Männer.

You are men.

Du wirst eines Tages ein richtiger Junge sein.

You will be a real boy one day.

More Nominative Examples

Der Vater schläft.

The father is sleeping.

Das Haus ist groß.

The house is big.

Das Pferd frisst das Gras.

The horse eats the grass.

Ich trinke Wasser.

I drink water.

Sie lernt Deutsch.

She is learning German.

Hast du Durst?

Are you thirsty? (lit. Do you have thirst?)

Er ist ein Kind.

He is a child.

Der Akkusativ (The Accusative Case)

The accusative case is another case that's used very frequently and it has quite a few purposes. The primary use of the accusative case is to mark a noun phrase as the direct object of a sentence or clause that has a transitive verb. The sentences below are examples of the accusative case being used to mark the direct object.

Ich habe einen Apfel aufgehoben.

I picked up an apple.

Der Junge trinkt Tee.

The boy drinks tea.

Du siehst den Jungen.

You see the boy.

As mentioned before, the use of grammatical cases makes it possible be more flexible with word order in German, so the examples above can also be written like this:

Einen Apfel habe ich aufgehoben.

I picked up an apple.

Tee trinkt der Junge.

The boy drinks tea.

Den Jungen siehst du.

You see the boy.

Nouns and determiners that are feminine, neuter or plural will almost always have their accusative forms be the same as their nominative forms.

die Frau - die Frau

the woman

das Kind - das Kind

the child

die Männer - die Männer

the men

ein Haus - ein Haus

a house

dieses grüne Boot - dieses grüne Boot

this green boat

Most singular masculine nouns will also have the same form in both nominative and accusative, but their determiners will typically have different forms.

der Mann - den Mann

the man

ein Hund - einen Hund

a dog

dieser Löffel - diesen Löffel

this spoon

der blaue Himmel - den blauen Himmel

the blue sky

Some masculine nouns fall into a special group of nouns known as weak nouns or masculine n-nouns. These nouns follow a special type of declension that is known as N-Declension. Nouns of this group will add an -n or -en ending for its accusative, dative and genitive forms, as well as its plural forms.

der Junge - den Jungen

the boy

der Student - den Studenten

the student

der Name - den Namen

the name

der Bär - den Bären

the bear

der Herr - den Herrn

the gentleman

Aside from marking the direct object, the accusative case is also used with certain prepositions. Examples of prepositions that use the accusative case are für (for), ohne (without), durch (through), um (around/about), and gegen (against) as well as a few others.

Er kocht für einen Freund.

He is cooking for a friend.

Sie fliegen durch den Regen.

They are flying through the rain.

While some prepositions can only take the accusative case, there are some that can take either the accusative case or dative case. Determining which case to use will depend on the situation. Usually, if the preposition describes some form of movement, direction or change of position, the accusative case would be used, whereas if it is describing the position of an object or the location of an action, the dative case would be used. An example of such a preposition is in (in/into).

Die Eltern geht in die Küche.

The parents are walking into the kitchen.

Die Eltern geht in der Küche.

The parents are walking in the kitchen.

Both sentences above use the preposition in, but they each take a different case. In the first one, it takes the accusative case and it portrays a situation in which the parents are walking into the kitchen from outside the kitchen. The second one takes the dative case and it portrays a situation in which the parents are walking within the confines of the kitchen. There are also some other prepositions that work in a similar way.

Legte es auf den Schreibtisch.

Put it on the desk.

Es ist auf dem Schreibtisch.

It is on the desk.

As shown in the examples above, auf is also a preposition that can take either the accusative or the dative. In the first sentence where it takes the accusative case, it is requesting that something be moved onto a desk. In the second sentence where it takes the dative case, it is referring to the physical location of an object.

More Accusative Examples

Du bist das Pflaster für meine Seele.

You are the plaster for my soul.

Ich habe eine Katze.

I have a cat.

Wir müssen um die Ecke gehen.

We need to go around the corner.

Wo kann ich den Hut verkaufen?

Where can I sell the hat?

Wir können es nicht sehen.

We can't see it.

Mein Herz darfst du nicht fragen.

You may not ask my heart.

Ein Maus frisst den Käse.

A mouse eats the cheese.

Gib ihr dieses Wasser.

Give her this water.

Der Dativ (The Dative Case)

Just like how the accusative case is used to mark direct objects, the primary purpose of the dative case is to mark indirect objects.

Ich gebe dir einen Apfel.

I give you an apple.

Ein Mann zeigt mir die Wohnung.

A man is showing me the apartment.

Er erzählt uns eine Geschichte.

He is telling us a story.

Er schenkt mir eine Katze.

He is gifting me a cat.

Der Mann gibt einer Frau Wasser.

The man gives water to a woman.

Zeig mir das Pferd.

Show me the horse.

In the sentences above, the indirect object is marked using the dative case. The indirect object would typically go before the direct object in most cases unless there is a change in emphasis.

Declining singular nouns into the dative case is very similar to declining them into the accusative case. In other words, most singular nouns will remain unchanged from their nominative forms, with the exception of N-Declension nouns, which will add an -n or -en ending.

der Mann - dem Mann

the man

der Elefant - dem Elefanten

the elephant

die Katze - der Katze

the cat

der Käse - dem Käse

the cheese

das Pferd - dem Pferd

the horse

der Hund - dem Hund

the dog

der Junge - dem Jungen

the boy

der Nachbar - dem Nachbarn

the neighbour

die Frau - der Frau

the woman

das Maus - dem Maus

the mouse

der Kunde - dem Kunden

the customer

das Herz - dem Herzen

the heart

The noun das Herz (the heart), even though it's not masculine, will act like an N-declension noun in the dative case. When declining it into its singular dative form, it becomes dem Herzen. Although that is the accepted standard way of declining it, colloquially, it may simply become dem Herz in some instances. The latter is more common when referring to the card suit (Hearts), as a term of endearment, or in the phrase mit Herz (good-hearted). Note that this does not apply in the accusative case as the accusative form of das Herz is still das Herz.

A rare exception is when some singular nouns would add an -e ending. In old German, many masculine and neuter nouns would add an -e ending when declining into the singular dative case. Since then, the language has dropped that rule. However, there are a few instances where the rule can still apply, such as in well-known set phrases like zu Hause (at home).

Ich bin zu Hause.

I am home.

Ich gehe nach Hause.

I'm going home.

In spoken language, a German speaker may sometimes use Haus instead of Hause. Don't be surprised if you hear it, it's perfectly normal as well.

Ich bin zu Haus.

I am home.

Ich gehe nach Haus.

I'm going home.

While singular nouns mostly tend to stay the same in the dative case, plural nouns decline a bit differently. Plural nouns will typically add an -n ending when declining into the dative case.

die Männer - den Männern

the men

die Kinder - den Kindern

the children

die Pferde - den Pferden

the horses

die Mütter - den Müttern

the mothers

die Äpfel - den Äpfeln

the apples

die Erlaubnisse - den Erlaubnissen

the permissions

die Hunde - den Hunden

the dogs

die Bücher - den Büchern

the books

die Mäuse - den Mäusen

the mice

die Kühe - den Kühen

the cows

die Töchter - den Töchtern

the daughters

die Löffel - den Löffeln

the spoons

die Häuser - den Häusern

the houses

There are a few exceptions to this rule. Plural nouns that already end with -n will remain the same in the dative form.

die Kartoffeln - den Kartoffeln

the potatoes

die Kunden - den Kunden

the customers

die Wohnungen - den Wohnungen

the apartments

die Katzen - den Katzen

the cats

die Mädchen - den Mädchen

the girls

Plural nouns that end with an -s will also remain the same in the dative form and will not have an -n ending.

die Babys - den Babys

the babies

die Autos - den Autos

the cars

die Parks - den Parks

the parks

die Kameras - den Kameras

the cameras

Furthermore, many foreign nouns that have irregular plural forms, typically of Latin or Greek origin, will not add an -n to its plural dative form.

der Modus - die Modi - den Modi

the mode - the modes

das Praktikum - die Praktika - den Praktika

the internship - the internships

das Tempus - die Tempora - den Tempora

the tense - the tenses

das Genus - die Genera - den Genera

the gender - the genders

(side note: Genus means gender strictly in the grammatical sense. When referring to sociological gender, use Gender. Geschlecht is also common when referring to grammatical gender, and it also refers to biological sex.)

Aside from marking the indirect object of a sentence or clause, the dative case has several other uses. There are several prepositions that take the dative case. These include mit (with), bei (by/near), von (from/of), zu (to), aus (from/out of), nach (to/towards/after), and several others.

Die Katze kommt aus der Garage.

The cat is coming out of the garage.

Das Pferd steht beim Zaun.

The horse is standing by the fence.

The second example above has the word beim which is a contraction of bei dem. Some prepositions tend to become contractions when preceding definite articles. While these contractions are not always necessary, they are fairly common. Below are some examples of such contractions.

bei dem - beim

in dem - im

in das - ins

zu der - zur

zu dem - zum

um das - ums

für das - fürs

von dem - vom

an dem - am

an das - ans

vor dem - vorm

vor das - vors

Another common use for the dative case is when an action is done for somebody or to someone.

Sie schneidet mir die Haare.

She is cutting my hair. (lit. She cuts the hair for me.)

Du trägst ihm die Koffer.

You are carrying his suitcases. (lit. You carry the suitcases for him.)

Ich wasche mir die Hände.

I am washing my hands. (lit. I wash the hands for me.)

There are also some verbs that will take the dative case. Below are some examples.

Ich helfe dir.

I am helping you.

Kannst du mir mit meinen Hausaufgaben helfen?

Can you help me with my homework?

Ich tue dir weh.

I am hurting you.

Die Stühle gehören den Mitgliedern.

The chairs belong to the members.

Another construction that uses the dative case sometimes is when someone is describing a state that they are in.

Mir ist kalt.

I am cold. (lit. For me, (it) is cold.)

Mir ist schlecht.

I feel sick. (lit. For me, (it) is bad.)

More Dative Examples

Wir gehen zum Schloss.

We are walking to the castle.

Sie geht nach Hause.

She is going home.

Warum gibst du mir das?

Why are you giving this to me?

Sand liegt auf der Straße.

There is sand on the road. (lit. Sand lies on the road.)

Wir erzählen den Kindern eine Geschichte.

We are telling the children a story.

Ich koche in der Küche.

I am cooking in the kitchen.

Mir geht es gut.

I'm doing well. (lit. For me, it is going well.)

Mir ist das zu viel!

This is too much for me!

Mir tun die Füße weh.

My feet are hurting me. (lit. The feet are hurting me.)

Mir ist warm.

I am warm. (lit. For me, (it) is warm.)

Der Genitiv (The Genitive Case)

The genitive case is probably the least used case in German. There are many complex uses of the genitive case, but generally put, the genitive case is the case of possession. While it is rarely used nowadays, especially in colloquial speech, it is still important to know about. When the genitive case is used for possession, it is comparable to how English adds an 's to nouns to indicate possession. Below are some examples of how the genitive can be used to indicate possession.

Der Motor dieses Autos ist viel zu klein.

This car's engine is much too small. (lit. The engine of this car is much too small.)

Das ist Annas Katze.

That is Anna's cat.

Das ist Tobias' Pferd.

That is Tobias's horse.

Das ist der Hut der Katze.

That is the cat's hat. (lit. That is the hat of the cat.)

Sie hat den Brief ihres Vaters gar nicht gesehen.

She never saw her father's letter. (lit. She has not seen the letter of her father at all.)

Das Dach des Hauses war unbeschädigt.

The roof of the house was undamaged.

Das ist der Weg des Herzens.

That is the way of the heart.

The possessor is declined into the genitive case and is typically placed directly after the possessee. But if the possessor is a proper name without an article, it might instead be placed before the possessee. Other instances where the possessor is placed before the possessee may sound archaic or poetic, like in the example below.

Das also war des Pudels Kern!

So that was the poodle's core!

Declining proper names into the genitive case is quite simple. Just simply add an -s to the end of the name. If the name ends with an -s or a -z, add an apostrophe to the end instead.

Anna - Annas

Karl - Karls

Paul - Pauls

Tobias - Tobias'

Heinz - Heinz'

Hans - Hans'

Feminine and plural nouns will typically stay the same when declining into the genitive case, as shown in these examples below.

die Frau - der Frau

the woman

die Katze - der Katze

the cat

die Schwester - der Schwester

the sister

die Orange - der Orange

the orange

die Kinder - der Kinder

the children

die Männer - der Männer

the men

die Jungen - der Jungen

the boys

die Mädchen - der Mädchen

the girls

die Frauen - der Frauen

the women

Masculine and neuter nouns usually add an -s ending when declining into the genitive case, or an -es ending when it is a one syllable noun, as shown in these examples below.

das Pferd - des Pferdes

the horse

der Mann - des Mannes

the man

das Auto - des Autos

the car

der Vater - des Vaters

the father

das Mädchen - des Mädchens

the girl

der Apfel - des Apfels

the apple

das Haus - des Hauses

the house

der Hund - des Hundes

the dog

Exceptions to that rule include the declension of masculine N-declension nouns, as well as the neuter noun das Herz (the heart) which declines into des Herzens. N-declension nouns would add an -n or -en ending, or sometimes an -ens ending.

der Junge - des Jungen

the boy

der Glaube - des Glaubens

the belief

der Kunde - des Kunden

the customer

der Name - des Namens

the name

der Bär - des Bären

the bear

das Herz - des Herzens

the heart

While possession is the primary use of the genitive case, possession can also be constructed using the preposition von with the dative case. German speakers often use the preposition von instead of the genitive case in colloquial speech. Below are some examples of this construction, as well as their corresponding genitive versions.

Ist das der Freund von deinem Bruder?

Is that your brother's friend? (lit. Is that the friend of your brother?)

Ist das der Freund deines Bruders?

Is that your brother's friend? (lit. Is that the friend of your brother?)

Wir suchen das Haus von seiner Mutter.

We're looking for his mother's house. (lit. We look for the house of his mother.)

Wir suchen das Haus seiner Mutter.

We're looking for his mother's house. (lit. We look for the house of his mother.)

Use of personal pronouns in the genitive case is extremely rare nowadays. If the possessor is a personal pronoun, and its corresponding possessive pronoun is not being used, the von+dative construction should be used instead of the genitive.

Er ist ein Freund von mir.

He is a friend of mine.

(side note: the noun Freund can mean either friend or boyfriend. By convention, using possessive pronouns with Freund implies that it means boyfriend, whereas using von+dative implies that it means friend. In other words, mein Freund means my boyfriend, and ein Freund von mir means my friend.)

The von+dative construction should also be used when the possessor has no article to mark the genitive case.

Das Abstellen von Fahrrädern ist verboten.

The parking of bicycles is forbidden.

Besides marking possession, the genitive case is also used with some prepositions. There are several prepositions that take the genitive case, but the majority of them are very rarely used at all. The most important ones are statt/anstatt (instead of), trotz (in spite of), wegen (because of) and während (during).

Trotz der Kälte wollen wir schwimmen gehen.

Despite the cold, we want to go swimming.

Statt eines Regenmantels trägt er einen Schirm.

Instead of a raincoat, he carries an umbrella.

Wegen der Arbeit meines Vaters mussten wir oft umziehen.

Because of my father's work, we often had to move.

Während des Sommers wohnt er bei seinen Großeltern.

During the summer, he lives with his grandparents.

Also, some verbs may use the genitive case for their objects.

Ich erfreue mich seiner Anwesenheit.

I enjoy his presence.

Wir harren deiner.

We await you.

Man muss unter 16 sein, um sich eines VCRs zu bedienen.

You must be under 16 to operate a VCR.

^ lol wut cx

Wir bedürfen Ihrer Hilfe.

We require your assistance.

Die Angst bemächtigte sich seiner.

Fear seized him.

The genitive case is also used to indicate an indefinite day or part of the day.

Eines Tages sollten wir das machen.

Someday we ought to do that.

Eines Morgens hat er vergessen, sich die Schuhe anzuziehen.

One morning, he forgot to put his shoes on.

Eines Sonntags gehen wir in die Kirche.

One Sunday, we will go to church.

Sie ist eines Nachts weggelaufen.

She ran away one night.

In the last example above, the genitive form of the feminine noun phrase eine Nacht, which would normally decline into einer Nacht, is instead eines Nachts. This is the only time it will assume this form, when it is being used as an indication of an indefinite time.

Some predicative adjectives are also associated with the genitive case.

Er ist seiner Beliebtheit sehr gewiss.

He is very certain of his popularity.

Ich bin mir dessen bewusst.

I am aware of that.

Sie ist des Mordes schuldig.

She is guilty of murder.

Er ist ihrer nicht wert.

He is not worthy of her.

Reference Links:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-nominative-case-in-german-definition-examples.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLmEHKRVZDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcsEFBDPo7M
https://www.germanveryeasy.com/noun-declension
https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_nouns03.htm
https://www.lingoda.com/en/content/german-prepositions/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M2ua94AzxY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc-lUIjC-2Q
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Herz
https://german.stackexchange.com/questions/2659/what-is-the-rule-for-adding-n-in-the-dativ-plural-case/24413#24413
https://study.com/academy/lesson/german-contractions-prepositions-definite-articles.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwo43TRys7U
https://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/Nouns/genitive.html