Declension in German Grammar – the Four Cases

Introduction

The four cases in German grammar are nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object) and genitive (possessive). Because the word order of sentences is not fixed in German grammar, we need the cases to tell us what role a noun or pronoun is playing in a sentence. Articles, nouns, adjectives and pronouns all have to be declined or inflected to reflect a case.

In the following pages, learn when and how to use each case and what to pay attention to when declining words. Just click on one of the links below for an in-depth explanation and exercises that let you practise what you have learnt.

Nominative Case

The nominative case is the basic form for articles, adjectives, nouns, and pronouns. The subject of the sentence is always in the nominative case. We can find the nominitive by asking wer/was - Who/what is performing the action?

Example:: Das kleine Haus gehört dem freundlichen Mann.; Es gehört dem freundlichen Mann.

Accusative Case

The accusative case follows certain verbs and prepositions, we can find it by asking wen/was – Whom/what is the direct recipient of the action?

Example:: Ich kenne den freundlichen Mann schon seit vielen Jahren.; Ich kenne ihn schon seit vielen Jahren.

Dative Case

The dative case follows certain verbs and prepositions, we can find by asking the question wem/was – To whom/what is indirect action of the verb being directed?

Example:: Das kleine Haus gehört dem freundlichen Mann.; Das kleine Haus gehört ihm.

Genitive Case

The genitive case shows possession/belonging. The genitive is also used after certain prepositions, verbs, and adjectives.

Example:: Das Haus des freundlichen Mannes steht unweit unseres Hauses.

Genitive, Dative, Accusative

Here you’ll find a list of prepositions – and some important verbs – that take the genitive, dative, or accusative. We also explain when to use certain prepositions (auf, hinter, vor, ...) with either the dative or accusative.

Example:: Der Mann steht außerhalb seines kleinen Hauses. (genitive); Er steht vor seinem kleinen Haus. (dative); Er stellt sich vor sein kleines Haus. (accusative)