Prepositions

Introduction

Prepositions are words such as 'in', 'on', 'with', 'for', 'at', 'to', used before nouns and pronouns. In German, different groups of prepositions are followed by the accusative, dative or genitive cases. (See Verb cases for an explanation of these terms)

Prepositions with the accusative

These are listed in the table below. A useful acronym with which to remember them is f-u-d-g-e-b-o-w.

NB: 'entlang' is unusual in that it comes after the word it refers to.

Examples of prepositions which take the accusative

Ist das ein Geschenk für mich? - Is that a present for me?

Sie sind ohne mich ins Kino gegangen. - They went to the cinema without me.

Geh die Hauptstraße entlang, und dann siehst du den Dom. - Go along the main street, and then you'll see the cathedral.

Prepositions with the dative

These are:

Examples of prepositions which take the dative

Sie wohnt bei ihrer Großmutter. - She lives with her granny./She lives at her granny’s.

Ich will heute nicht zur* Schule gehen. - I don't want to go to school today.

Ich gehe mit meinen Brüdern schwimmen. - I go swimming with my brothers.

Wir lernen Deutsch seit zwei Jahren. - We have been learning German for two years.

Geradeaus bis zum* Marktplatz. - Straight on as far as the market square.

NB: * 'Zur' is a contraction of 'zu der' and 'zum' is a contraction of 'zu dem'. See 'Short forms of some prepositions' for more information.

Prepositions with the genitive

These are:

Examples of prepositions which take the genitive

Statt einer neuen Hose habe ich einen schönen Rock gekauft. - Instead of new trousers I bought a nice skirt.

Während der Ferien hat es jeden Tag geregnet. - It rained every day during the holidays.

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