The “classic” use of the accusative case in German is to mark the direct object: the noun or pronoun in a sentence that is directly affected by the action of the verb. For example:
However, the German accusative case also has a few other uses. Most importantly, this case is used after accusative prepositions like durch meaning through, für meaning for, or gegen meaning against.
The accusative is one of the four cases in German — special forms used to show the grammatical roles that different nouns play in a sentence. In this post, we’ll talk about how to form this case, when to use it, and discuss some word order rules that you are likely to encounter when you use this case. Ready to dive in? Let’s have a look!
What is the accusative case in German?
The accusative case is one of the four cases in German: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Each case represents a special form given to the words in noun phrases that perform some particular grammatical function in a sentence.
As we mentioned above, the accusative case is mostly used for direct objects and for the objects of accusative prepositions, but the other cases have other functions. For example:
The case of a noun phrase affects not only the form of the noun or pronoun itself, but also all the words that go along with it, including articles, adjectives, and other noun-modifying words. Therefore all of these different types of words may have special accusative forms.
To learn more about the other German cases, we suggest you check out our post on the German case system.
How to form the accusative case in German?
In German, pronouns, articles, adjectives, and other noun-modifying words can have accusative forms. In this section, we’ll introduce you to what these different kinds of words look like in the accusative case.
Luckily, in German, nouns do not have a special accusative form! An accusative noun will look just like the dictionary form. Therefore, you’ll just need to make sure you’re using the correct forms of pronouns and modifying words. Let’s have a look at some of the most important ones!
Accusative articles (and other words that share their pattern)
The following tables provide the German articles in the accusative case, contrasted with the nominative form (dictionary form) in each gender:
| Definite Article (“the”) | ||
|---|---|---|
Masculine | der | den |
Feminine | die | die |
Neuter | das | das |
Plural | die | die |
| Indefinite Article (“a(n)”) | ||
|---|---|---|
Masculine | ein | einen |
Feminine | eine | eine |
Neuter | ein | ein |
As you can see, the nominative and accusative articles are only different before masculine singular nouns!
Accusative personal pronouns
In German, the accusative personal pronouns differ from the nominative (or subject) pronouns in several instances, but not all:
| Person | Nominative | Accusative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
1st Singular | ich | mich | I → me |
2nd Singular | du | dich | you |
3rd Singular | ersiees | ihnsiees | he → him she → her it |
1st Plural | wir | uns | we → us |
2nd Plural | ihr | euch | you (all) |
3rd Plural | sie | sie | they → them |
Formal “You” | Sie | Sie | you |
Accusative adjectives
The forms of German adjectives depend somewhat on whether or not they follow an article, and on which article they follow:
If there is no article preceding the adjective, add an adjective ending that reflects the ending a definite article would have taken (the NESE endings, -en, -e, -es, -e):
accusative caseSir Engelhart trinkt gern leckeren Saft.Translation: Sir Engelhart likes to drink delicious juice.If the accusative adjective follows an article, use the table below:
Adjective Ending Use after… Example -edie (singular)
das
accusative caseIch sehe die bleiche Frau und das kleine Mädchen.Translation: I see the pale woman and the little girl.-enden
einen
die (plural)
accusative caseDu brauchst einen silbernen Löffel, den goldenen Becher und die brennenden Kerzen.Translation: You need a silver spoon, a golden cup and the burning candles.-esein
accusative caseEr hat ein großes Schloss.Translation: He has a big castle.
When to use the accusative case in German?
The German accusative case is used in two main cases: to mark the direct object of a sentence and to mark objects of certain prepositions. We also sometimes use this case for some time and measurement words.
Accusative case marking the direct object
The German accusative case is used to identify or mark the direct object of a sentence — the noun or pronoun that undergoes the action. For example:
Did you see how the modifying words associated with the noun (like den, silbernen, and golden) show the accusative case as well?
Accusative case marking the objects of prepositions
In addition to marking a direct object, the accusative case also marks the object of two types of prepositions: accusative prepositions and two-case prepositions.
What does it mean to be an object of a preposition? Easy! The object of a preposition is the noun phrase the preposition introduces. So, for example:
You’ll use the accusative case for the objects of prepositions belonging to two main groups:
Accusative prepositions → These are always used before the accusative case. The five most common accusative prepositions in German are: durch meaning through, für meaning for, ohne meaning without, um meaning around, and gegen meaning against.
accusative prepositionaccusative caseDer Geist schwebte durch den Park , sang Lieder für das Mädchen und kämpfte gegen den Ritter.Translation: The ghost floated through the park, sang songs for the girl and fought against the knight.Two-case prepositions → The objects of two-case prepositions are also marked in the accusative case only when they are used to describe a destination. This use of the accusative case is often called the accusative of destination.
Some common two-case prepositions are an meaning on; at, in meaning in and auf meaning on; on top of, hinter meaning behind, neben meaning beside, über meaning over, above, unter meaning under, vor meaning in front of, and zwischen meaning between.
two-case prepositionaccusative caseSir Engelhart rannte auf den Marktplatz und lief hinter die Kirche, aber der Geist fand gegen ihn.Translation: Sir Engelhart ran onto the market square and walked behind the church, but the ghost found him.Notice that the nouns are all destinations. (Also, did you see the direct object, ihn?)Be careful! Two-case prepositions have their name for a reason: if they are used to describe locations, they use the dative case instead.
Accusative case for time expressions
Expressions of time like “next week,” “last Tuesday,” or “every winter” in German will always be in the accusative case.
In German, such expressions usually combine one of these words…
jede meaning every, diese meaning this, nächste meaning next, letzte meaning last
…with a day of the week (e.g. Monday), time of day (e.g. evening), month (e.g. July), or season (e.g. summer).
For example:
Accusative case for measurement
German expressions of measurement using units like Zentimeter meaning centimeter, Meter meaning meter, Gramm meaning gram or Kilogramm meaning kilogram are in the accusative case:
Using the accusative in a sentence: some word order considerations
Another matter that is indirectly connected to the accusative case is the question of the placement of a direct object in relation to the indirect (or dative case) object. Follow this rule:
Place a direct object directly after an indirect object…
…unless it is represented by a pronoun; then it needs to precede the indirect object:
Summary
Now you’ve been thoroughly introduced to the accusative case in German! How does it feel? Here are the most important take-aways:
The accusative case is used mostly for direct objects and for the objects of certain prepositions, but it is sometimes used in time and measurement phrases.
Nouns do not have special accusative forms, but the forms of pronouns, articles, adjectives and other descriptive words do. Pay particularly close attention to nominative singular forms, which change most often.
Want to practice what you’ve learned? Check out our German accusative case exercises. Maybe you’ll meet that ghost again? Happy learning!
