What you need to know about the German prepositions

Tom

6 years ago

What You Need to Know About the German Prepositions

To learn German is easy! I help you to figure out 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!

Tom · Native speaker from Berlin. I break down German grammar on my weekly podcast for 60,000+ learners.

German prepositions help us determine the connection between the object and the rest of the sentence, mainly in terms of time and place. You can divide them by the cases they take — some always require the accusative, dative, or genitive, and some can take multiple cases depending on context.

Akkusativ Präpositionen

I like to think about prepositions like computer viruses. You have your structure with the direct and indirect object but suddenly there is a preposition and everything changes. After the accusative prepositions, you always use the accusative case.

Deutsch	English	Beispiel	Translation
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.

I explain German prepositions with lots of examples on my podcast. Listen during your next walk or workout — it’s free.

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Übung – Exercise

In this podcast episode, I am teaching you the German prepositions. Listen to it during your next workout or walk in the park.

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Dativ Präpositionen

Always use the dative case after these prepositions. Try the exercise as well.

Deutsch	English	Beispiel	Translation
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.

Learn the dative prepositions with this song from Maggie. She also creates more content around the German language and fun songs to memorize words. Follow her on YouTube.

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Source: maggiesgermanlearningsongs.com

Übung – Exercise

Genitiv Präpositionen

Deutsch	English	Beispiel	Translation
aufgrund / wegen	due to, because of	Aufgrund der Ferien gibt es keinen Unterricht.	There are no classes due to the holidays.
trotz	despite	Trotz des Regens gehe ich spazieren.	Despite the rain, I go for a walk.
anstelle / 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.
während	during	Während der Mathestunde hatte ich eine Idee.	I had an idea during the math lesson.

Wechselpräpositionen

Some prepositions can take either the accusative or the dative case. The accusative is about change of state (movement) and the dative is about location (staying in place).

You can also ask:

“wohin?” (where to) → Akkusativ
“wo?” (where) → Dativ

Imagine all the possible ways where you can place an apple near a table. This is how I remember the German two-way prepositions best.

Translation – Übersetzung

Deutsch	English
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 prepositions but these lists should provide you an easy guide for the prepositions in the German language.

Exercise: German Two-Way Prepositions

Fill in the correct preposition. Then click “Check” to see if you’re right. Remember: wo? → Dativ, wohin? → Akkusativ.

Die Katze springt den Tisch. (onto the table → movement)

The cat jumps onto the table.

Das Buch liegt der Tasche. (in the bag → location)

The book is in the bag.

Er hängt das Bild die Wand. (onto the wall → movement)

He hangs the picture on the wall.

Der Hund schläft dem Tisch. (under the table → location)

The dog sleeps under the table.

Sie setzt sich mich. (next to me → movement)

She sits down next to me.

Das Kind versteckt sich dem Baum. (behind the tree → location)

The child hides behind the tree.

Der Vogel fliegt das Haus. (over the house → movement)

The bird flies over the house.

Wir stehen dem Kino. (in front of the cinema → location)

We are standing in front of the cinema.

Er stellt die Vase die Bücher. (between the books → movement)

He puts the vase between the books.

Ich gehe die Schule. (into the school → movement)

I go to school.

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