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There are four cases in German:
the nominative case
the accusative case
the dative case
the genitive case
You may look at each case as a name for a set of
endings or forms a definite article, an indefinite article, a possessive article
or an adjective etc. can take. That way, it is easier to talk about them because you don't
have to list the individual endings.
The nominative, the
accusative, the dative and the genitive forms of
- the definite article [= the], e.g. der, die, den
- the indefinite article
[= a(n)], e.g. ein, eine, einen
- the negative form of "ein-", e.g. kein,
keinen, keinen
- the
possessive article "mein" and "dein" (as examples for all the other
possessive articles)
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masculine singular
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feminine singular
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neuter singular
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masculine, feminine &
neuter plural
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nominative
case |
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der
ein
kein
mein, dein
... |
Bruder |
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die
eine
keine
meine, deine
...
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Tasche |
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das
ein
kein
mein, dein
...
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Foto |
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die
—*
keine
meine, deine ...
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Brüder
Taschen
Fotos
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accusative
case |
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den
einen
keinen
meinen, deinen
... |
Bruder |
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die
eine
keine
meine, deine
...
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Tasche |
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das
ein
kein
mein, dein
...
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Foto |
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die
—*
keine
meine, deine ...
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Brüder
Taschen
Fotos
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dative
case |
dem
einem
keinem
meinem, deinem ...
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Bruder |
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der
einer
keiner
meiner, deiner ...
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Tasche |
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dem
einem
keinem
meinem, deinem ...
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Foto |
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den
—*
keinen
meinen, deinen ... |
Brüdern
Taschen
Fotos
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genitive
case |
des
eines
keines
meines, deines ...
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Bruders |
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der
einer
keiner
meiner, deiner ...
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Tasche |
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des
eines
keines
meines, deines ...
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Fotos |
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der
—*
keiner
meiner, deiner ... |
Brüder
Taschen
Fotos
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*The
indefinite article ein doesn't have a plural form.
Click
here to see the personal pronouns in the
nominative, the accusative and the dative case.
The nominative case
is used
for the subject of a
sentence, e.g.
Mein Bruder studiert in Cork. (My brother is
studying in Cork.)
Die
Milch ist sauer? (The
milk is sour.)
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for the noun phrase (e.g.
friend, my friend, my old friend) that describes the subject
of a sentence when the verb is to be (= sein), e.g.
Er
ist
mein Lehrer. (He is my teacher.)
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Er |
ist |
mein Lehrer.
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subject (nominative) |
verb |
nominative |
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This
means
that there are 2 nominatives in this
sentence.
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The
accusative case
is used
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for the direct object of a
sentence, e.g.
Ich habe
keinen Laptop. (I have no laptop.)
Sie trifft heute Abend
ihren Freund.
(This evening she is going to meet
her friend.)
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to complete the meaning of "es
gibt" (there is, there are), e.g.
Es gibt
einen Zoo in Dublin.
(There is a zoo in Dublin.)
Gibt es
eine Post hier in der Nähe?
(Is
there a post office around here?)
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after prepositions that are
always followed by the accusative case,
e.g.
Sie
geht nie ohne ihren Regenschirm
spazieren. (She never goes for a walk
without her umbrella.)
Ich
habe den Rucksack für meinen
Bruder gekauft. (I bought the rucksack
for my brother.)
[You
actually need the accusative twice in this
sentence, after the preposition "für" and
for the direct object of the sentence (den
Rucksack).]
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after prepositions that can
require the accusative case or the dative case like "in" or "auf" if
you can ask "Where to?", e.g.
Wir sind in den Garten
gegangen. (We went into the garden.)
Er hat den Schlüssel auf den Tisch
gestellt. (He put the key onto the table.)
[You
actually need the accusative twice in this
sentence, after the preposition "auf" and
for the direct object of the sentence (den
Schlüssel).]
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for definite time expressions
without a preposition, e.g.
jeden Tag
(every
day)
nächste Woche (next week)
letztes
Wochenende (last weekend)
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for greetings and good wishes,
e.g.
Guten
Abend.
(Good
evening.)
Gute Reise! (Have a good trip!)
Schönes Wochenende! (Have a nice
weekend!)
Frohe Ostern! (Have a nice Easter!)
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The
dative case
is used |
for the indirect object,
e.g.
Sie
gibt ihrem Sohn kein
Geburtstagstagsgeschenk. (She
doesn't give her son a birthday present.)
Ich habe
ihm eine E-Mail geschickt. (I sent him
an email.)
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after prepositions that are
always followed by the dative case,
e.g.
Sie
spricht mit ihrer Chefin. (She
is talking to her boss.)
Das
Buch habe ich von meinem Vater
bekommen. (I got this book from my father.)
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after prepositions that can
require the accusative case or the dative case like "in", "auf" or
"an" if you can ask "Where?" or "When?",
e.g.
Wir
haben die Party in seinem Garten
gefeiert. (We celebrated the party in his
garden.)
Die Ferien beginnen in
einer Woche. (The holidays are going to
start in one week.)
Der
Schlüssel liegt auf dem Tisch.
(The key is on the table.)
Ich
treffe ihn an dem Sonntag
nach Halloween. (I am going to meet him the
Sunday after Halloween.)
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with several
verbs that are always used with the dative case, e.g.
danken: Ich mӧchte
Ihnen danken. (I would
like to thank you.)
glauben: Sie
glaubt ihren Freunden nicht. (She
doesn't believe her friends.)
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The
genitive case
is used
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for indicating possession,
e.g.
WIr haben das
Haus meiner Großeltern
verkauft. (We sold the house of our
grandparents.)
Das
Dach des Hauses brannte. (The roof of the
house was on fire.)
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after prepositions that are
always followed by the genitive case,
e.g.
Er ist trotz des Regens
in den Garten gegangen. (Despite the rain he
went into the garden.)
Während
des Sommers hat es kaum geregnet.
(There was hardly any rain during the
summer.)
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