German Cases Explained: Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, and Genitiv (with Chart and Quiz)
If you're learning German, you may have learned der Hund (the dog), then seen den Hund or dem Hund in a sentence. It looks like a different word at first, but it is the same noun. Only the article changed.
The article changes because of the case. A case shows what job a noun does in a sentence. German has four cases, but at A1 you mostly need two of them.
Try it first
In each sentence, the German article is missing. The article is the word that shows the case. Pick the one you think is right, then read the feedback after each answer. That feedback is the useful part.
If some of those felt like guesses, the explanation below will show you why each answer is what it is.
What a case actually is
Start with the article:
- Der Hund schläft. (The dog is sleeping.) The dog is doing something, so this is Nominativ.
- Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.) Something is done to the dog, so this is Akkusativ.
- Ich gebe dem Hund Wasser. (I give the dog water.) The dog receives something, so this is Dativ.
It is the same dog and the same noun each time. The article tells you the noun's job in the sentence.
English does this only with pronouns, such as "he" and "him" or "she" and "her." German does it with the article on every noun.
Adjective endings change with cases too, but that is a later topic. For now, the article is the part you need first.
How many cases does German have?
German has four cases. Learn them in this order: Nominativ (nominative), Akkusativ (accusative), Dativ (dative), then Genitiv (genitive).
| Case | English name | Question | Job in the sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | nominative | Wer? (who?) / Was? (what?) | The subject, the one doing the action |
| Akkusativ | accusative | Wen? (whom?) / Was? (what?) | The direct object, the thing the action is done to |
| Dativ | dative | Wem? (to whom?) | The indirect object, the receiver, also after most prepositions |
| Genitiv | genitive | Wessen? (whose?) | Possession, "of" or "'s" |
Nominativ and Akkusativ cover most everyday sentences, Dativ comes third, and Genitiv is the rarest and appears mostly in written German.
Genitiv is explained at the end of this post, and you can skip it on your first read.
German cases chart
Here is the German cases chart for definite articles (bestimmte Artikel), the forms of "the." Ignore the Genitiv row for now. You can come back to it when you reach the Genitiv section near the end.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der | die | das | die |
| Akkusativ | den | die | das | die |
| Dativ | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitiv | des | der | des | der |
Here is the chart for indefinite articles (unbestimmte Artikel), meaning "a" or "an."
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | ein | eine | ein |
| Akkusativ | einen | eine | ein |
| Dativ | einem | einer | einem |
| Genitiv | eines | einer | eines |
There is no plural indefinite article. Kein (no, not a) follows the same pattern and has plural forms: keine, keine, keinen, keiner.
Personal pronouns also change by case:
| Nominativ | Akkusativ | Dativ |
|---|---|---|
| ich (I) | mich (me) | mir (to me) |
| du (you) | dich | dir |
| er (he) | ihn (him) | ihm (to him) |
| sie (she) | sie (her) | ihr (to her) |
| es (it) | es | ihm |
| wir (we) | uns (us) | uns |
| ihr (you, plural) | euch | euch |
| sie (they) | sie (them) | ihnen (to them) |
| Sie (you, formal) | Sie | Ihnen |
A few patterns matter most:
- Feminine and neuter forms do not change between Nominativ and Akkusativ.
- Masculine is the only gender that changes in Akkusativ: der becomes den, and ein becomes einen.
- The plural is die in Nominativ and Akkusativ, den in Dativ, and der in Genitiv.
In Dativ plural, the noun adds -n unless its plural already ends in -n or -s: mit den Kindern (with the children), mit den Freunden (with the friends), but mit den Frauen (with the women) and mit den Autos (with the cars).
If you are not sure whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter, return to our der, die, das post first. You need the gender before you can choose the correct case form.
Nominativ: the subject
Nominativ (nominative) is the subject case. It answers Wer? (who?) or Was? (what?). The subject is the person or thing doing the action.
- Der Mann liest. (The man is reading.)
- Die Katze schläft. (The cat is sleeping.)
- Das Kind spielt. (The child is playing.)
- Die Bücher sind neu. (The books are new.)
Nominativ is the form you find in a dictionary and on flashcards.
After sein (to be), the noun also stays in Nominativ:
- Das ist der Lehrer. (That is the teacher.)
- Er ist ein guter Freund. (He is a good friend.)
Akkusativ: the direct object
Akkusativ (accusative) is the direct object case. It answers Wen? (whom?) or Was? (what?). The direct object receives the action.
- Ich sehe den Mann. (I see the man.)
- Ich sehe die Frau. (I see the woman.)
- Ich sehe das Kind. (I see the child.)
- Ich habe einen Hund. (I have a dog.)
- Wir kaufen den Apfel. (We are buying the apple.)
Only masculine articles change here. That is good news, because it gives you one clear pattern to practise: der Mann becomes den Mann, and ein Hund becomes einen Hund.
Most verbs with one object take Akkusativ. Common ones include haben (to have), sehen (to see), kaufen (to buy), lesen (to read), essen (to eat), trinken (to drink), suchen (to look for), and brauchen (to need).
Es gibt (there is, there are) always takes Akkusativ: Es gibt einen Park. (There is a park.)
Five prepositions always take Akkusativ:
- durch (through)
- für (for)
- gegen (against)
- ohne (without)
- um (around, at for clock times)
For example: Das Geschenk ist für den Vater. (The present is for the father.) Wir gehen durch den Park. (We walk through the park.) Ohne den Schlüssel (without the key).
Dativ: the receiver and most prepositions
Dativ (dative) answers Wem? (to whom?). It often marks the receiver of something.
- Ich gebe dem Kind einen Apfel. (I give the child an apple.)
- Ich helfe dem Mann. (I help the man.)
- Das Buch gehört der Frau. (The book belongs to the woman.)
- Der Film gefällt mir. (I like the film, literally: the film pleases me.)
In the first sentence, dem Kind is the receiver, so it is Dativ. Einen Apfel is the thing given, so it is Akkusativ.
Some verbs always take Dativ. Learn these as complete patterns: helfen (to help), danken (to thank), gefallen (to please, used for "to like"), gehören (to belong to), antworten (to answer someone), folgen (to follow), and glauben (to believe someone).
Seven prepositions always take Dativ:
- aus (out of, from)
- bei (at, near, with)
- mit (with)
- nach (after, to)
- seit (since, for a time)
- von (from, of)
- zu (to)
You will see these constantly: Ich fahre mit dem Bus. (I go by bus.) Sie kommt aus der Schweiz. (She comes from Switzerland.) Er wohnt bei den Eltern. (He lives with his parents.) Wir gehen zum Arzt. (We are going to the doctor.) Seit dem Sommer (since the summer).
For how these prepositions work in real sentences, read our Dativ prepositions post.
Some Dativ forms join together:
- zu dem becomes zum
- zu der becomes zur
- bei dem becomes beim
- von dem becomes vom
- in dem becomes im
- an dem becomes am
Akkusativ or Dativ?
The Akkusativ versus Dativ choice usually comes down to two situations.
Verbs with two objects
When a verb has a person receiving something and a thing being given, shown, sent, or explained, the person is Dativ and the thing is Akkusativ.
- Ich zeige dem Freund die Stadt. (I show the friend the city.)
- Sie schickt der Oma einen Brief. (She sends grandma a letter.)
- Er erklärt den Kindern die Regel. (He explains the rule to the children.)
This pattern appears with geben (to give), schenken (to give as a present), zeigen (to show), schicken (to send), erklären (to explain), and bringen (to bring).
Two-way prepositions
German calls these Wechselpräpositionen (two-way prepositions), and they take Akkusativ or Dativ depending on the sentence:
an (at, on a vertical surface), auf (on, on top of), hinter (behind), in (in, into), neben (next to), über (above, over), unter (under), vor (in front of), and zwischen (between).
When there is movement to a place, the question is Wohin? (where to?) and the case is Akkusativ.
- Ich gehe in den Park. (I am going into the park.)
- Sie hängt das Bild an die Wand. (She hangs the picture on the wall.)
When something is already in a location, the question is Wo? (where?) and the case is Dativ.
- Ich bin im Park. (I am in the park.)
- Das Bild hängt an der Wand. (The picture hangs on the wall.)
For the full Wohin, Wo, and Woher (where from?) rules, read our Dativ prepositions post.
Genitiv: the case you can leave for later
Genitiv (genitive) answers Wessen? (whose?). It is the rarest case and appears mostly in written German. At A1 and A2, you only need to recognise it when you read it.
It shows possession, like English "of" or "'s."
- das Auto des Mannes (the man's car)
- die Tasche der Frau (the woman's bag)
- das Zimmer des Kindes (the child's room)
- die Bücher der Kinder (the children's books)
Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es. Short nouns often use -es, such as des Mannes and des Kindes. Longer nouns often use -s, such as des Lehrers and des Autos.
Names take -s without an apostrophe: Annas Buch (Anna's book) and Peters Auto (Peter's car).
Four prepositions take Genitiv: wegen (because of), trotz (despite), während (during), and statt (instead of).
- Wegen des Regens bleiben wir zu Hause. (Because of the rain we stay at home.)
- Trotz des Wetters (despite the weather)
- Während des Essens (during the meal)
In spoken German, people often use von (from, of) plus Dativ instead: das Auto von meinem Bruder (my brother's car) instead of das Auto meines Bruders. Both are correct, but the von form is more common in speech.
You may also hear wegen dem Regen in casual speech. Standard written German uses wegen des Regens.
How to learn the cases without memorising the chart
Learn every noun with its article. The case forms cannot help you if you do not know whether the noun starts as der, die, or das.
Start with Nominativ and Akkusativ. Only masculine changes, so you can focus on one useful pattern: der to den, and ein to einen.
Add Dativ through the fixed prepositions and Dativ verbs, rather than trying to memorise every form at once. Much everyday Dativ comes from mit, zu, bei, von, aus, and nach.
Leave Genitiv for reading at first. You will understand more than you can produce, and that is completely normal.
Use the chart above as a reference when you need to check a form. It is not a list you need to memorise in one sitting.
What to do next
Run the quiz at the top a few more times until your article choice becomes fast. Then use the flashcard deck to review the chart and the preposition lists.
After that, practise the prepositions in full sentences with the Dativ Prepositions game. That is where most everyday Dativ appears.