A preposition is a service part of speech, and at first glance, its role is insignificant. But if you look at the use of prepositions and conjunctions, it becomes clear that without them it would be difficult to convey the meaning of speech. These parts of speech can indicate different places or times, be used with place names and other variants of nouns. To know how to use prepositions correctly means to be able to build speech correctly.

Use of prepositions dual control

Each preposition in German is used with a specific case - the nominative , dative, genitive, accusative. In order to learn how to use prepositions correctly, you need to spend a certain amount of time learning them all. In order not to get confused, it is best to do this in parts, moving from one case to another. In German, there are prepositions that simultaneously control two cases - Dativ - Genitiv:

Pretext	Example
Dank	Dank meinen zahlreichen Freunden (D.) / meiner zahlreichen Freunde (G.) – Thanks to my many friends, I quickly overcame all difficulties (the dative case is used here).
gemass	Gemass dem Vertrag (D.) / des Vertrages (G.) schicken wir unsere Fachleute nach England. - In accordance with the contract, we will send our specialists to England (the dative case is used here).
laut	laut dem Abkommen (D.) / des Abkommens (G.) wird er zum Vorstandsvorsitzenden ernannt.- According to the contract (agreement), he is appointed chairman of the board.
trotz	Trotz den günstigen Preisen (D.) / der günstigen Preise (G.) haben wir nichts gekauft. Despite the favorable prices, we did not buy anything.

Prepositions that are only used in Akkusativ

The easiest way to learn prepositions is when there is a table with examples and their translation.

Pretext	Translation	Example
bis	before	Der Zug fährt bis Koln. The train goes to Cologne.
durch	through/through	Sie fahren durch die Türkei. They go through Turkey.
entlang	Along/within	Wir fahren die Kuste entlang. We're driving along the coast.
fur	For/for something	Er braucht das Geld fur seine Miete. He needs money to pay rent.
gegen	against/in	Das auto fuhr gegen einen Baum. The car drove into a tree.
Ohne	without	Ohne Brille kann ich nichts sehen. I can't see anything without glasses.
um	Around/around (about time)	Wir sind um die Kirche (herum) gegangen. We walked around the church. Die Besprechung beginnt um 13.00 Uhr. The meeting starts at 13:00.
wider	Contrary/against	Wider das Recht. Against the law. Against the law. Wider die Natur. Against nature

Prepositions used only in Dativ - including, temporary

These prepositions also include prepositions of place and direction:

	Wohin? (Where?)	Wo? (Where?)	Woher? where?
continents, countries, cities	nach Australien nach Belgien nach Berlin	in Australia in Belgium in Berlin	aus Australien aus Belgien aus Berlin
closed places (conditionally)	ins Zimmer in die Schule in den Wald	im Zimmer in der Schule im Wald	aus dem Zimmer aus der Schule aus dem Wald
open places (conditionally)	auf die Insel auf die Strasse zumplatz zum Bahnhof Zoom Markt	auf der Insel auf der Strasse auf dem Platz am Bahnhof auf dem Markt	von der Insel von der Strasse vom Platz vom Bahnhof vommarkt
People	zum Arzt zu mir	beim Arzt bei mir	vom Arzt
ponds, shores reservoirs	ans meer an den Strand zoom Fluss ans Ufer	am Meer am Strand am Fluss am Ufer	vom meer vom Strand vom Fluss vom Ufer

Prepositions used with Genetiv

Pretext	Translation	Example
ausserhalb	outside / outside / outside / outside	Außerhalb der Stadt gibt es viel Wald. There is a big forest outside the city.
innerhalb	within/within/within/within	Bitte bezahlen Sie die Rechnung innerhalb einer Woche. – Please pay the bill within a week. Der Hund kann sich innerhalb der Wohnung befinden. - The dog can stay in the apartment.
laut	in accordance with ... / according to something / according to	Laut einer Studie sind nur 50% der Deutschen glücklich. – According to a study, only 50% of Germans are happy.
mithilfe	With the help/assistance	Mithilfe eines Freundes gelang ihm die Flucht. Thanks to the help of his friends, he managed to escape.
statt	Instead of anything	Statt eines Blumenstrausses verschenkte er ein altes Buch. Instead of a bouquet of flowers, he gave an old book.
trotz	despite/in spite of	Trotz einer schlechten Leistung bestand er die Prüfung. Despite poor performance, he passed the exam.
wahrend	during/in the course of/in the course of/in the process	Während seines Studiums lernte er Englisch. - During his studies at the institute, he learned English.
Wegen	due to/because of something	Wegen eines Unglücks hatte der Zug Verspätung. The train was late due to an accident.

The exercise should be mandatory for anyone who has set himself the goal of learning a language thoroughly. Some neglect their implementation, believing that it is quite enough to simply deal with the topic and learn the basic provisions - words, rules, endings, and so on. Only exercises - written and oral - will help to consolidate knowledge of the topic. Try to have your work reviewed by a teacher, either in person or online.

When studying cases (pad.) in German, the Genitive is often not given due attention, since it is used quite rarely in the modern colloquial language, its replacement by the Dative case is very common, as Bastian Sick wrote in detail in his book. Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod). At the same time, it would be a big mistake not to study it at all, referring to the possibility of replacing it with constructions with the Dative case, since it is used quite actively in written speech, and if you strive to speak correctly, in a literary language, you need to know it.

Since in German cases are expressed with the help of articles, let us recall their forms in the Genitive case.

Indefinite articles:

	m.r.	zh.r.	cf.
Nominative	ein	eine	ein
Genitive	eines	einer	eines

Definite articles:

	m.r.	zh.r.	cf.	plural
Nominative	der	die	das	die
Genitive	des	der	des	der

The most common use of the Genitive pad. in German, as in Russian, in constructions noun (noun) + noun (usually with the meaning of belonging): das Auto meines Mannes (my husband's car), der Mann meiner Tochter (my daughter's husband), die Kleider des Kindes (children's clothes), das Haus meiner Eltern (my parents' house). Such nouns. answer the question whose? whose? whose? whose? (wessen?). In colloquial everyday speech, they can be replaced by von + Dativ constructions: das Auto von meinem Mann, der Mann von meiner Tochter, etc. This can be heard especially often in the south of Germany.

Strictly speaking, not always the phrases of nouns. + n. indicate belonging, they can have other meanings: die Arbeit der Lehrerin (teacher's work), Hilfe des älteren Bruders (elder brother's help) - source of action, die Untersuchung des Patienten (patient examination), die Renovierung der Wohnung (apartment renovation) - the object of action, der Wagon zweiter Klasse (second-class carriage), Speisen der besten Qualität (highest quality kitchen) - property, quality of the item, etc. The most important thing to remember is that the second noun. stands, as a rule, in the Genitive pad.

ATTENTION! Despite the fact that the constructions of + n. in Russian and German languages ​​are used according to the general principle, there are some differences. So, we say a glass of wine (what? - R.p.), a cup of tea (R.p.), a liter of beer (R.p.). The Germans use 2 nominative cases in such cases: ein Glas Wein, eine Tasse Tee, ein Liter Bier.

When using Genitiv (Genitive case) in German, you need to be very careful when forming the masculine and neuter forms: they usually take on the endings -s (-es), as you can already see in the examples above: Geburtstag meines Vater s(my father's birthday), das Handy ihres Freunde s(her friend's mobile phone), das Zimmer ihres Kinde s(their child's room), die Puppe des Mädchen s(girl doll).

The ending -es is attached to:

• monosyllabic nouns: das Kind - des Kindes, das Bild - des Bildes, der Sohn - des Sohnes, der Tag - des Tages, etc.
• nouns ending in ss, -ß, -tz, -x and -z: der Bus-des Buses, der Fluss - des Flusses, der Arzt - des Arztes, der Komplex - des Komplexes, der Platz - des Platzes. ATTENTION! At noun. with the ending -nis, s is doubled: das Ergebnis - des Ergebnisses, das Verständnis - des Verständnisses, das Zeugnis - des Zeugnisses, etc.
• noun with the accent on the last syllable: der Erfolg –des Erfolges, etc.

In other cases, as a rule, the ending -s is used, but do not forget about the weak declension of nouns (n-Deklination) - the nouns of this declension acquire the ending -en (as in all other cases): der Mensch - des Menschen, der Russe - des Russen, der Hase - des Hasen, etc.

Proper names also acquire the ending -s, regardless of gender, but the noun is in Genitive pad. precedes the noun in the Nominative:

Das ist Manuelas Fahrrad. This is Manuela's bicycle.

Peters Auto ist kaputt. Peter's car broke down.

Ich habe FrauReiners Pass gefunden. “I found Frau Reiner's passport.

If a proper name ends in s, - tz, - x or z, then the letter is Genitive pad. marked with an apostrophe:

Max' Heft liegt auf dem Tisch. Max's notebook is on the table.

Hans' Mutter kommt nächste Woche. Hans' mother will arrive next week.

Fritz' Kinder spielen mit meinen zusammen. Fritz's children play with mine.

There is also an obsolete form, Fritzens, Hansens, but it is not commonly used. In oral speech, the use of such turns is undesirable, it is more expedient to replace them with constructions with the preposition von + Dativ: das Heft von Max, die Mutter von Hans, die Kinder von Fritz ...

In addition, this form is preferable when using plural nouns. Since in the plural the word itself does not acquire any ending, the case value is expressed only by the article. When using nouns with a definite article, there are no problems: die Sachen der Kinder (the things of (these) children), die Kleider der Frauen (the dresses of (these) women), die Werke der Kü nstler (the works of (these) artists). But such phrases are correct and possible when it comes to specific children, women and artists. If we speak in general, not referring to specific people or objects, then we cannot use the definite article; in such cases the dative pad does not help either. with the preposition von: Sachen von Kindern, Kleider von Frauen, Werke von Künstlern .

If the word has an adjective or a pronoun, then they express the Genitive pad. their endings: Sachen kleiner Kinder (things of small children), die Kleider junger Frauen (dresses of young women), die Werke berühmterKünstler (works of famous artists).

Genitiv (Genitive case) in German is used not only in the phrases described above, there are a number of verbs and adjectives that require this case form after them.

So, for example, the verbs bedürfen (need, demand), harren (look forward), gedenken (remember, remember), bezichtigen (blame, convict), beschuldigen (blame), verweisen (send, expel), würdigen (deliver), sich rühmen (to show off), sich erfreuen (to use to possess), sich entledigen (to get rid of), sich befleißigen (to try, strive), sich bedienen (to take advantage), sich erbarmen (to take pity), sich schämen (to be ashamed), sich annehmen (to take care, look after), sich versichern (provide for oneself, enlist) require an object in the Genitive pad.

Er rühmt sich seines Sieges im Boxkampf. He boasts about his victory in a boxing match.

Leider erfreue ich mich keiner besten Gesundheit. “Unfortunately, I am not in good health.

Ich muss mich erst seiner Hilfe versichern. “I need to get his support first.

Der Berühmte russische Schriftsteller A. Solschenizyn wurde der USSR verwiesen. – The famous Russian writer A. Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the USSR.

Some adjectives are also used with an object in the Genitive case, for example: unkundig (not knowledgeable, not knowing), verdächtig (suspected, suspected), bewusst (aware, aware) mächtig (possessing), (un)würdig ((not ) worthy), überdrüssig (annoy).

Er ist des Lebens ganz unkundig. He doesn't know life at all.

Fast jeder Schüler ist der Schule zum Schulabschluss total überdrüssig. - Almost every student gets bored with school by the end of it.

Er war der Börsenmachenschaften verdächtig, seine Schuld aber wurde nicht bewiesen. - He was suspected of stock fraud, but not proven guilty.

However, the above verbs and adjectives appear with Genitive pad. in writing, usually in a high (elusive or solemn) style and are considered obsolete forms. In everyday speech, they can be used with various prepositions (their meaning does not change).

Considering Genitiv (Genitive) in German, it is necessary to dwell on a whole group of prepositions that also require the Genitive case after them. This group is very numerous: abseits (away from), anhand (with the help), angesichts (in view of), anlässlich (on the occasion, about), anstatt (instead of, instead of), anstelle (instead of), aufgrund (because of, due to), außerhalb (outside, beyond), binnen (during, throughout), diesseits (on this side), gemäß (according to, in accordance), halber (for the sake of, for, in view of), hinsichtlich (in relation to, regarding ), infolge (due to), inmitten (in the middle), innerhalb (inside, in), jenseits (on the other side), kraft (in force, on the basis), längs (along), laut (according to), mangels (beyond lack, for lack), mittels (through, with the help), oberhalb (above), statt (instead of, instead of), trotz (despite), um ... Willen (for the sake of, in the name), ungeachtet (despite), unterhalb (under, below), unweit (not far from), vermittels (through, by), während (during), wegen (because of), zeit (throughout, during), zwecks (for the purpose of, in order to to) and some others.

Aufgrund seines nachgewiesenen Alibis wurde der Verdächtige freigesprochen. Because of the proven alibi, the suspect was released.

Ungeachtet vieler Streike hat die Unternehmensleitung über 100 Arbeitnehmer entlassen. – Despite many strikes, the management of the enterprise laid off more than 100 employees.

Der Chef hielt lange feierliche Rede anlässlich des Jubiläums unserer Firma. - The chief was holding a long solemn speech on the occasion of the anniversary of our company.

Statt des Straftäters hat die Polizei das Opfer festgenommen. “Instead of the perpetrator, the police apprehended the victim.

The difficulty with using many of the prepositions from this list (for example, wegen, gemäß, laut, infolge, mittels, binnen, trotz) lies in the fact that they can be used in colloquial speech with the dative case. But the strict norms of the literary language still require Genitiv, so if you want to speak correctly, you still have to master Genitiv. BUT! There is one more feature: when using these prepositions with nouns without an article or an adjective (or pronoun) in the plural (i.e. when there is no clear marker of the Genitive pad.), it is recommended to use the Dative pad by the norms of the literary language. (the preposition von may appear in such constructions):

Mangels der überzeugenden Beweise (G.) musste die Polizei das Verfahren gegen ihn einstellen. “For lack of hard evidence, the police had to drop their investigation against him.

Mangels Beweisen (D.) musste die Polizei das Verfahren gegen ihn einstellen. Due to lack of evidence, the police had to drop the investigation against him.

Angesichts der neuen Tatsachen forderte der Anwalt eine weitere Ermittlung. – In view of the new circumstances, the lawyer requested an additional investigation.

Angesichts von 2 Millionen Arbeitslosen musste sich die Regierung um neue Arbeitsplätze kümmern. - In view of the 2 million unemployed, the government had to take care of new jobs.

There are many such examples, so when using these prepositions, do not be lazy to look into the dictionary once again to make sure that you have constructed the sentence correctly.

Genitive prepositions ( Genitive ):

Er kommt (an)statt Seines Bruders. - He comes instead of his brother.
Wir spielen trotz des Wetters. - We play (or will play) despite the weather.
Ich arbeite während der Woche. - I work during the week.
Das war während des Krieges. - It was during the war.
Sie fehlt wegen der Krankheit (wegen der Probleme). She is absent due to illness (due to problems).

Prepositions with Genitiv express some kind of relationship (causal, temporal, spatial, concessive ...). No wonder the genitive case is used.

Many prepositions with Genitiv are typical only for a clerical or legal language, it makes no sense to memorize them in a list, but rather “in order of receipt”, just like new words.

Some of them express spatio-temporal relations:

ausserhalb der Stadt - outside the city, outside the city;
innerhalb des Hauses, innerhalb eines Jahres - inside the house, during the year;
oberhalb der Stadt - above the city, above the city;
unterhalb des Bergdorfs - below the mountain village, below the mountain village;

diesseits des Flusses - on this side of the river;
jenseits des Gebirges - on the other side of the mountains;
Abseits der ausgetretenen Pfade - away from the trampled (trodden) paths;
beiderseits der Grenze - on both sides of the border;
längs (= längsseits ) der Autobahn - along (throughout) the highway;

unweit des Instituts - not far from the institute;
attendant dieser Unordnung - in the midst of this confusion;
binnen (= innerhalb ) einer Woche - within (within) a week, in a week;
zeit seines Lebens - during (all) one's life.

Another part of the prepositions with Genitiv indicates the source, the reason (+ despite the reason), as well as the means and the goal (of the action). Reason (beginning) - means (middle) - goal (end):

laut des Gesetzes - according to (according to) this law;
aufgrund der Zeugenaussagen - on the basis of testimonies;
craft (= aufgrun d) seines Amtes handeln - to act on the basis of the position held;
der Bequemlichkeit halber - for the sake of convenience;
angesichts der hohen Zahl an Arbeitslosen - in view of the high number of unemployed;
infolge des starken Regens - due to heavy rain;
zufolge der Nachrichten - according to the news, as the news said;
zugunsten seines Schwiegersohnes - in favor of his son-in-law;
anlasslich des Feiertages - on the occasion (on the occasion) of the holiday;
ungeachtet der Zwischenrufe (= der Zwischenrufe ungeachtet…) - despite (regardless of) cries;
anstelle (= anstelle ) des Meisters - instead of a master;
anhand (= anhand ) des vorliegenen Tatbestands - on the basis of the available factual material in the case (corpus delicti);
mit Hilfe eines Fachmanns - with the help of a specialist;
mittels eines gefälschten Dokuments - by means of a forged document;
vermoge seines ausgezeichneten Gedächtnisses - thanks (by virtue of) their excellent memory;

um… willen : Um des lieben Friedens willen gab er schließlich nach. - For the sake of the sweet world (that is, in order not to spoil relations), he finally gave in;

zwecks (usually without article): eine Maßnahme zwecks größerer Sicherheit - an event with a purpose, for greater security;

hinsichtlich der Qualität unserer Produkte - regarding the quality of our products.

If the noun does not have an adjective or article with it and it has nothing to express the genitive case, then after most of these prepositions there may also be a preposition von (+ Dativ):

mit Hilfe von Werkzeugen - with the help of tools;
anhand von Fingerabdrücken - with the help of fingerprints;
anstelle von Bäumen - instead of trees.

But some prepositions cannot be combined with von (mainly for laut and mangels). If they are followed by a noun without an article or an adjective, then in the singular it does not receive a case ending, does not change: Laut Gesetz - by law (not Gesetzes!), Mangels Interested - due to lack of interest (not Interests!); and in the plural, Dativ is used instead of Genitiv. Compare:

innerhalb der nächsten Monate - within the next few months,
innerhalb fünf Monaten - within five months;

binnen weniger Augenblicke - within a few (few) moments,
binnen drei Jahren - for three years;

trotz fehlender Beweise - despite missing evidence,
trotz Beweisen - despite the evidence;

mangels finanzieller Unterstützung - due to lack of financial support,
jemanden mangels Beweisen freisprechen - to acquit someone due to lack of evidence.

The dative is also used to avoid two genitives in a row. Compare:

während seines Vortrags - during his lecture,
während Herrn Meiers langem Vortrag - during Mr. Meier's long lecture;

wegen des dichten Nebels - due to thick fog,
wegen Lisas schlechtem Gesundheitszustand - due to Lisa's poor health.

After während, statt, wegen in colloquial language, it is already quite common to hear Dativ, but this is not very good German. Concerning trotz , then here, from the point of view of the literary language, both Genitiv and Dativ are possible (trotz< - trotzen - противиться чему?), который, однако, употребляется редко:

trotz des schlechten Wetters = trotz dem schlechten Wetter - despite bad weather.

Genitiv and Dativ are equally possible after the prepositions dank (thanks) and laut (according to):

dank seinem Fleiß - thanks to (his) diligence,
dank Ihres Eingreifens - thanks to your intervention;

laut (dem) Fahrplan - according to (this) schedule,
laut dieses Gesetzes - according to this law.

Some prepositions, as you have already seen, can be turned into postpositions, that is, come after the noun they refer to:

nach meiner Meinung = meiner Meinung nach - in my opinion,
wegen des Kindes = des Kindes wegen - because of a child,
gegenüber seinem Freund = seinem Freund gegenüber - in relation to his friend,

entsprechend / entgegen den Vorschriften \u003d den Vorschriften entsprechend / entgegen - according to, accordingly / contrary to the regulations ...

In some cases this changes the case:

zufolge der Nachrichten (Genitiv) = den Nachrichten zufolge (Dativ) - according to (as follows from) news, reports, Back

Genitiv - the genitive case in German - is one of the four cases of the German case system. Words, in particular nouns, that are used in the genitive case can act in a sentence as definitions (when used without a preposition), indirect objects and various circumstances (when used with prepositions) and most often answer the question Whose? — Wessen? The questions may be different, depending on which member of the sentence is being discussed (When? - Wann?, etc.). For example:

Sie hat das Arbeitsheft ihrerSchulfreundin(G.) zufällig mitgenommen. - She accidentally took with her a workbook of her school friend (Whose? - definition).

Heute gingen wir vorsichtshalber desanderenWeges(G.). – Today, as a precaution, we went a different way (How, in what way? - a circumstance of the mode of action, Genitiv in absolute, independent use)

Diese Gebäckfullung haben wir DankheutigenKuchen(G.)erfunden. - We invented this filling thanks to today's pies (In what way? - a circumstance of the mode of action).

Cases in German

As with other cases, there are certain prepositions in German that require the use of Genitiv after them. These include such prepositions as instead of, instead of - (an) statt; in spite of, in spite of, notwithstanding trotz, ungeachtet; because of, due to, for the sake of, due to - Wegen(may come before or after a noun) at the time, on occasion, on occasion - anlä sslich; during, during, during wä hrend; along, in the longitudinal direction - lä ngs; close to, not far from unweit; outside, outside ausserhalb; for the disadvantage - angels; through - mittels; above - oberhalb;under - unterhalb; from the side - seitens;because of - aufgrund; due to - infolge; with the aim of - zwecks; in place instead of anstelle; regarding, regarding hinsichtlich; during - innerhalb; in the middle - attendant and others. In general, there are a lot of prepositions with genitive control in German, much more than any other. However, the frequency of their use in speech is low, they are often replaced by the control of the dative case.

Genitiv - genitive in German: prepositions that govern only the genitive

Pretext	Example
(an)statt	Warum hast du statt Lehrbücher (G.) neue Spiele gekauft? Why did you buy new games instead of textbooks?
Wegen	Wegen des starken Windes (G.) konnten die Urlauber nicht baden. The vacationers could not swim because of the strong wind.
anlasslich	Anlasslich des Besuches (G.) der Werksleitung wurde ein Imbiss organisiert. - A buffet was organized on the occasion of the visit of the factory authorities.
wahrend	Wahrend der Alpenreise (G.) haben wir viele kleine Städte und Dörfer besucht. – During the trip to the Alps, we visited many small towns and villages.
langs	Die Kinder haben entschieden, langs des kleinen Flusses (G.) zu laufen. The children decided to run along a small river.
unweit	Unweit unserer Hochschule (G.) hat man eine grosse Bibliothek gebaut. – A large library was built not far from our university.
ausserhalb	Ausserhalb unserer Stadt (G.) gibt es eine Menge Skikurorte. – Outside of our city there are a large number of ski resorts.
angels	Mangels Anhaltspunkte (G.) konnte eine Beschuldigung nicht erhoben werden. Due to lack of evidence, charges could not be brought.
mittels	Mittels seiner Aufgeschlossenheit (G.) hat er viele interessante Sachen erfahren. Thanks to his sociability, he learned a lot of interesting things.
oberhalb	Oberhalb des Berges (G.) konnte man einen schönen Regenbogen beobachten. — A beautiful rainbow could be observed over the mountain.
unterhalb	Unterhalb des Berges (G.) befindet sich ein kleines Dorf. There is a small village at the foot of the mountain.
aufgrund	Aufgrund unserer Untersuchungen (G.) wurde ein neuer Stern entdeckt. “Based on our research, a new star has been discovered.
infolge	Information einer falschen Behandlung (G.) war er gezwungen, im Krankenhaus zu bleiben. Due to improper treatment, he was forced to stay in the hospital.
zwecks	Zwecks Gesundheitskräftigung (G.) musste er Vitamine einnehmen. In order to improve health, he had to drink vitamins.
anstelle	Anstelle deiner Nichte (G.) würde ich nach Portugal fahren. – If I were your niece, I would go to Portugal.
hinsichtlich	Hinsichtlich deiner Entscheidung (G.) kann ich sagen, dass sie mich überhaupt nicht fasziniert. - Regarding your decision, I can say that it does not impress me at all.
ungeachtet	Ungeachtet der sorgfältigen Vorbereitung (G.) haben sie nicht alles vorgesehen. “Despite careful preparation, they did not foresee everything.
innerhalb	Innerhalb eines Monats (G.) muss ich zwei Zimmer tapezieren. I have to wallpaper two rooms within a month.
Onmitten	Inmitten unseres Flusses (G.) gibt es eine ganz kleine Insel. There is one very small island in the middle of our river.

Some German prepositions have dual control of both the genitive and the dative. In this case, the dative case in German will answer the question Where? - Wo ?, and the genitive - to the question Whose? – Wessen?; that is, the dative case of the German language means the immediate location of an object or person somewhere. The genitive case most often indicates belonging.

If there are no articles, pronouns or adjectives with nouns, and therefore they are not able to express the genitive case, then after the overwhelming number of the above prepositions, the preposition von can be used additionally, which automatically transfers control from Genitiv to Dativ. Those prepositions that cannot be combined with von (for example, according to - laut), in the singular will be used without adding the case ending Genitiv, and in the plural Genitiv will be replaced by Dativ. For example:

• Anstelle von Blumen pflanzen wir in diem Jahr Erdbeeren. - In place of flowers, we will plant strawberries this year.
• Laut Verordnung, Gesetz, Vertrag / laut Verordnungen, Gesetzen, Verträgen- according to the order, law, contract (G.) / according to the orders, laws, contracts (D.) .

Genitiv - genitive case in German: examples of prepositions with dual control (Dativ - Genitiv)

Pretext	Example
Dank	Dank meinen zahlreichen Freunden (D.) / meiner zahlreichen Freunde (G.) – Thanks to my many friends, I quickly overcame all difficulties (the dative case is used here).
gemass	Gemass dem Vertrag (D.) / des Vertrages (G.) schicken wir unsere Fachleute nach England. - In accordance with the contract, we will send our specialists to England (the dative case is used here).
laut	laut dem Abkommen (D.) / des Abkommens (G.) wird er zum Vorstandsvorsitzenden ernannt. - According to the contract (agreement), he is appointed chairman of the board.
trotz		Trotz den günstigen Preisen (D.) / der günstigen Preise (G.) haben wir nichts gekauft. Despite the favorable prices, we did not buy anything.

All German prepositions are used with a certain case .. To learn german prepositions with translation, their use, as well as freely apply them in practice, it will take a lot of time. But it doesn’t matter, over time, prepositions will settle in your head, most importantly, use different expressions and verbs with them more often in your speech ....

In German, there are prepositions that are used only in the Akkusativ case, or German prepositions that are used only in the Dativ. And also, in German there are prepositions that require both cases, both Akkusativ and Dativ(in this case, you need to focus on the issue). Well, let's not forget about Genitiv.

P.s. declension of articles by case is possible

And today in my article we consider German prepositions with translation and examples=) Let's go!

Prepositions used ONLY in Akkusativ:

• bis (before…): Der Zug fährt bis Koln. The train is going to Cologne.
• durch (through/through): Sie fahren durch die Türkei. They are going through Turkey.
• entlang (along/during): Wir fahren die Kuste entlang. We're driving along the coast.
• fur (for/for something): Er braucht das Geld fur seine Miete. He needs money to pay rent.
• gegen (against/in): Das Auto fuhr gegen einen Baum - The car drove into a tree.
• ohne (without): Ohne Brille kann ich nichts sehen. I can't see anything without glasses.
• um (near/around/at (-about time)): Wir sind um die Kirche (herum) gegangen. We walked around the church. Die Besprechung beginnt um 13.00 Uhr. The meeting starts at 13:00.
• wider (contrary/against): Wider das Recht. Against the law | Against the law. Wider die Natur. Against nature

Prepositions used ONLY in Dativ:

• ab (from / s - indicates the time) / starting from ..): Ab nächster Woche habe ich Urlaub. I'm on vacation from next week.
• aus (from): Ich komme aus der Türkei. I am from Turkey.
• außer (excluding/other than/outside of something): Ich habe außer einer Scheibe Brot nichts gegessen. I didn't eat anything other than a slice/piece of bread.
• bei (1.indicates the location where-l / at someone. - at / at / near. 2. indicates the state - for / during something)- (bei dem \u003d beim): Ich wohne bei meinen Eltern . I live with my parents. | Er sieht beim Essen fern. He watches TV while eating/during meals.
• entgegen (contrary to): Entgehen den Erwartungen verlor der Boxer den Kampf. Contrary to expectations, the boxer lost the fight.
• gegenüber (opposite): Das Cafe befindet sich gegenüber dem Theatre. The cafe is located opposite the theatre.
• mit ("with"; and also indicates the means of doing the action): Ich fahre mit dem Auto. I'm driving a car. | Ich gehe mit meiner Schwester ins Kino. I go with my sister to the cinema.
• nach (after): Nach dem Essen gehe ich ins Bett. After eating I go to bed.
• seit (indicates a point in time - from some point, starting from ..): Seit Adams Zeiten - From the time of Adam and Eve. | Ich habe seit gestern Abend starke Kopfschmerzen. “I have a headache since last night.
• von (from - in temporal meaning; from, from - spatial value; indicates belonging) / (von dem - vom): Das ist der Schreibtisch vom Chef. This is my boss's desk. | Ich komme gerade vom Zahnarzt. I'm only from a doctor.
• zu (used when changing location, specifying a target/place; k..) / (zu dem = zum|zu der = zur): Zum Glück regnet es nicht. Luckily, it doesn't rain (it doesn't rain).

Prepositions used in both cases- both in Dativ and Akkusativ - are called Wechselpräpositionen. In this case, you should always ask questions:

Wo? (where? place) / Wann? (When?)= require Dative case.
Wohin? (where? direction, movement)= requires Akkusativ .

And now to these suggestions:

an (an dem = am|an das = ans) - on:
Dative— Das Bild hängt an der Wand. (Wo?—an der Wand). Painting hanging on the wall (Where?)
Accusative- Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand (wohin? - an die Wand). I hang a picture on the wall. (Where?)

auf (auf das = aufs) - on:
Dative— Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. The book is on the table.
Accusative— Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. I put the book on the table.

hinter - behind, behind, from:
Dative— Der Brief liegt hinter dem Schreibtisch. The letter is on the table.
Accusative— Der Brief ist hinter den Schreibtisch gefallen. The letter fell on the table.

in (in dem = im|in das = ins) - in:
Dative— Ich war in der Schweiz. I was in Switzerland.
Accusative— Ich fahre in die Schweiz. I'm going to Switzerland.

neben - near, near:
Dative— Der Tisch steht neben dem Bett. The table is next to the bed.
Accusative— Ich stelle den Tisch neben das Bett. I'll put a table next to the bed.

über - over, oh, more:
Dative— Das Bild hängt über dem Sofa. The painting hangs over the sofa.
Accusative— Laura hängt das Bildüber das Sofa. Laura hangs a picture over the sofa.

unter - under:
Dative— Die Katze sitzt unter dem Stuhl. The cat is sitting under the chair.
Accusative— Die Katze kriecht unter den Stuhl. The cat crawled under the chair.

vor (vor dem = vorm) - before, before:
Dative- Die Taxis stehen vorm Bahnhof. Taxis stand in front of the railway station.
Accusative— Die Taxis fahren direkt vor die Tür. Taxis drive right up to the door.

zwischen - between:
Dative-Das Foto ist zwischen den Büchern. The photo stands between the books.
Accusative Hast du das Foto zwischen die Büchern gesteckt? Did you put the photo between the books?

Prepositions with the Genitiv case:

• außerhalb (outside/outside/outside/outside): Außerhalb der Stadt gibt es viel Wald. Outside the city there is a large forest.
• innerhalb (within/within/within/within): Bitte bezahlen Sie die Rechnung innerhalb einer Woche. Please pay the bill within a week. Der Hund kann sich innerhalb der Wohnung befinden. The dog may be in the apartment.
• laut (according to…/according to something/by/): Laut einer Studie sind nur 50% der Deutschen glücklich. According to a study, only 50% of Germans are happy.
• mithilfe (with the help/assistance): Mithilfe eines Freundes gelang ihm die Flucht. With the help of his friends, he managed to escape.
• statt (instead of smth.): Statt eines Blumenstrausses verschenkte er ein altes Buch. Instead of a bouquet of flowers, he gave an old book.
• trotz (despite/despite): Trotz einer schlechten Leistung bestand er die Prüfung. Despite poor performance, he passed the exam.
• während (during something / during something / in the process): Während seines Studiums lernte er Englisch. During his studies at the institute, he learned English.
• wegen (because of / as a result of smth.): Wegen eines Unglücks hatte der Zug Verspätung. The train was late due to an accident.
  IMPORTANT : with personal pronouns pretext Wegen will be used with case Dative: Wegen dir|mir (+Dativ) - Wegen dir habe ich drei Kilo zugenommen. Because of you, I gained 3 kg.

If this article was useful to you, then please share it on social networks and subscribe =) We will be glad to meet you =)