To Learn German is easy! Well, have you heard about the German prepositions? These are words that help us to determine the connection between the object and the rest of the sentence, mainly in terms of time and place. We have created an awesome German prepositions list for you!
You can also divide the German prepositions by the cases that they take. Some German prepositions take the accusative, dative, or genitive case. Some can even take multiple cases, but you have to decide based on the context of the sentence.
Accusative Prepositions German
| für | for | Ich arbeite für das Unternehmen. | I work for the company. |
| gegen | against | Der Mann spielt gegen die Frau. | The man plays against the woman. |
| durch | through, across | Ich schwimme durch das Wasser. | I swim through the water. |
| ohne | without | Der Hund spaziert ohne den Besitzer. | The dog is walking without the owner. |
| um | at, around | Die Katze geht um den Tisch. | The cat goes around the table. |
Dative prepositions German
| aus | out of, from | Ich gehe aus dem Haus. | I go out of the house. |
| bei | near, at | Du bist bei deiner Schwester. | You are at your sister’s. |
| mit | with | Der Hund spielt mit der Katze. | The dog is playing with the cat. |
| nach | after, to | Nach dem Unterricht werde ich schlafen. | After class, I’ll sleep. |
| seit | since, for | Seit den Ferien habe ich zugenommen. | I’ve gained weight since the holidays. |
| von | from, of | Wir möchten uns von dem Training erholen. | We want to recover from the training. |
| zu | to | Er hat die Tomaten zum Kochen gekauft. | He bought the tomatoes to cook. |
Genitive prepositions German (Incomplete list)
| aufgrund/auf Grund, wegen | due to | Aufgrund der Ferien gibt es keinen Unterricht. | There are no classes due to the holidays. |
| trotz, ungeachtet | despite, notwithstanding | Trotz des Regens gehe ich spazieren. | Despite the rain, I go for a walk. |
| anstelle, an Stelle, statt | instead of | Anstelle eines Hundes hat sie eine Katze gekauft. | Instead of a dog, she bought a cat. |
| nördlich | north of | Nördlich der Stadt gibt es einen See. | There is a lake north of the city. |
| oberhalb | above | Ich habe starke Schmerzen oberhalb des Knies. | I have severe pain above the knee. |
Here is an awesome video about prepositions in German. Absolutely recommendable!
Two-Way Prepositions in German
Learning the German language and the prepositions can be difficult because some prepositions can take either the accusative or the dative case. Here is an easy guide for the two-way prepositions. The accusative prepositions are about movement or change and the dative prepositions about location. You can also ask “where to” for accusative or “where” for the dative.
| an | on, to |
| auf | on, upon |
| hinter | behind |
| in | in, into |
| neben | next to |
| über | over |
| unter | under |
| vor | before, in front of |
| zwischen | between |
There are more things to learn about the prepositions but these lists should provide you an easy guide for the prepositions in the German language. If you like this explanation and would like to learn more, then please leave your email below to receive more helpful information.
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