Noun Cases in German Grammar

Introduction

German nouns must be declined to reflect the case that they are in; nominative, accusative, dative or genitive. This overview shows how most nouns are declined in German.

Click on one of the links below to learn more noun declension in German grammar. There are exercises at the end of each lesson so you can practise what you have learnt.

nominativegenitivedativeaccusative
masculine (m) der Vater/
ein Vater		 des Vaters/
eines Vaters		 dem Vater/
einem Vater		 den Vater/
einen Vater
feminine (f) die Mutter/
eine Mutter		 der Mutter/
einer Mutter		 der Mutter/
einer Mutter		 die Mutter/
eine Mutter
neuter (n) das Kind/
ein Kind		 des Kindes/
eines Kindes		 dem Kind/
einem Kind		 das Kind/
ein Kind
plural die Eltern/
Eltern		 der Eltern/
Eltern		 den Eltern/
Eltern		 die Eltern/
Eltern

Nouns that are derived from ajectives such as der Bekannteacquaintance, das Neue(the) new are declined like adjectives (see Declension/Inflection of Adjectives):

Example:
Das ist der Hund eines Bekannten. That is an acquaintance’s dog.
Er hat von nichts Neuem berichtet. He reported nothing new.

Nominative Case

The nominative is the basic form of a noun. The subject of a sentence is in the nominative case – it is the thing or person performing the action.

Accusative Case

We use the accusative after certain verbs and prepositions. The accusative object is also known as the direct object – it is the thing or person receiving the direct action.

Dative Case

We use the dative after certain verbs and prepositions. The dative object is also called the indirect object – it is the thing or person receiving the indirect action.

Genitive Case

We use the genitive to indicate possession, and also after certain prepositions, verbs, and adjectives. The genitive is used for the thing being possessed.