German Two-Way Prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen): Akkusativ or Dativ?

You need German two-way prepositions whenever you say where something is or where you are putting it. They appear in everyday sentences about your home, your work, and your city.

The same preposition can take two cases: Ich gehe in den Park (I'm going into the park) and Ich bin im Park (I'm in the park). If you choose the wrong case, the sentence is wrong or says something you did not mean. The rule is short: ask Wohin? (where to?) or Wo? (where?). This post covers the rule, every preposition, useful verb pairs, contractions, and the cases where the rule does not apply.

Try it first

Each sentence has a missing article, so decide whether the sentence says where something goes or where something is. The reason shown after each answer is the useful part.

If some of those answers felt like guesses, the next sections explain the pattern.

What are two-way prepositions?

Two-way prepositions are nine German prepositions that can take either Akkusativ or Dativ. German calls them Wechselpräpositionen.

Most German prepositions always take one fixed case. These prepositions are special because the meaning of your sentence decides the case.

Wohin or Wo: the one rule you need

• Wohin? means a change of place and takes Akkusativ.
• Wo? means a location and takes Dativ.
• Ask whether something ends up in a new place or stays where it is.

Use Akkusativ when someone or something moves to a destination.

Ich gehe in den Park. (I'm going into the park.) Ask Wohin? The answer is "in den Park," so you use Akkusativ.

Use Dativ when someone or something is already at a location.

Ich bin im Park. (I'm in the park.) Ask Wo? The answer is "im Park," so you use Dativ.

The same pattern works with objects:

• Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. (I put the book on the table.) This is Akkusativ because the book moves to the table.
• Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book is lying on the table.) This is Dativ because the book is already there.

You'll need a moment to ask this question at first, and that's fine. It becomes faster with practice.

How the articles change

• Masculine articles change in both cases.
• Feminine and neuter keep their normal article in Akkusativ.
• Dativ plural nouns usually add -n.

This is the article pattern after a two-way preposition:

The masculine forms are often the easiest to notice. Der Park becomes den Park in Akkusativ and dem Park in Dativ.

With feminine and neuter nouns, the Akkusativ article stays the same. But in Dativ, it changes: die Tasche becomes der Tasche, and das Bett becomes dem Bett.

For plural nouns, use die in Akkusativ and den in Dativ. The noun also adds -n when possible:

• auf die Stühle (onto the chairs)
• auf den Stühlen (on the chairs)

If a plural noun already ends in -n or -s, do not add another -n: in den Autos (in the cars).

The same change happens with ein words. Ich stelle die Flasche auf einen Tisch. (I put the bottle on a table.) Here, einen is masculine Akkusativ. Die Flasche steht auf einem Tisch. (The bottle is standing on a table.) Here, einem is masculine Dativ.

The endings are einen, eine, ein in Akkusativ and einem, einer, einem in Dativ. If you want the full system, read our German cases post. If you are unsure whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter, start with der, die, das.

Each preposition with examples

An

Use an (at, on) for vertical surfaces such as a wall or door, and for edges. English uses "on" for both a wall and a table, but German uses an for a wall and auf for a table.

• Akkusativ: Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. (I hang the picture on the wall.)
• Dativ: Das Bild hängt an der Wand. (The picture is hanging on the wall.)

Auf

Use auf (on, on top of) for a flat surface that something touches.

• Akkusativ: Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. (I put the book on the table.)
• Dativ: Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book is lying on the table.)

Hinter

Hinter (behind) puts something at the back of another thing.

• Akkusativ: Die Katze läuft hinter das Sofa. (The cat runs behind the sofa.)
• Dativ: Die Katze sitzt hinter dem Sofa. (The cat is sitting behind the sofa.)

In

Use in (in, into) when something is inside another place or object.

• Akkusativ: Ich lege den Schlüssel in die Tasche. (I put the key in the bag.)
• Dativ: Der Schlüssel ist in der Tasche. (The key is in the bag.)

Neben

Use neben (next to) when something is beside another thing.

• Akkusativ: Ich stelle den Stuhl neben das Bett. (I put the chair next to the bed.)
• Dativ: Der Stuhl steht neben dem Bett. (The chair is standing next to the bed.)

Über

Use über (above, over) when something is above another thing without touching it. This is different from auf.

• Akkusativ: Ich hänge die Lampe über den Tisch. (I hang the lamp above the table.)
• Dativ: Die Lampe hängt über dem Tisch. (The lamp is hanging above the table.)

Unter

Use unter (under) when something is below another thing.

• Akkusativ: Der Hund läuft unter den Tisch. (The dog runs under the table.)
• Dativ: Der Hund liegt unter dem Tisch. (The dog is lying under the table.)

Vor

Vor (in front of) is the opposite of hinter.

• Akkusativ: Ich stelle das Auto vor das Haus. (I put the car in front of the house.)
• Dativ: Das Auto steht vor dem Haus. (The car is standing in front of the house.)

Zwischen

Use zwischen (between) with two things. Both nouns take the same case.

• Akkusativ: Ich stelle die Lampe zwischen das Sofa und den Tisch. (I put the lamp between the sofa and the table.)
• Dativ: Die Lampe steht zwischen dem Sofa und dem Tisch. (The lamp is standing between the sofa and the table.)

The verb pairs that help you decide

• Legen, stellen, and setzen put something in a new place and take Akkusativ.
• Liegen, stehen, and sitzen describe where something is and take Dativ.
• Hängen is the same word in both uses.

These verb pairs give you a useful clue. The verbs in the left column usually describe putting something somewhere. The verbs in the right column describe its position.

Compare these pairs:

• Ich lege das Buch auf das Bett. (I put the book on the bed.) / Das Buch liegt auf dem Bett. (The book is lying on the bed.)
• Ich stelle die Flasche auf den Tisch. (I put the bottle on the table.) / Die Flasche steht auf dem Tisch. (The bottle is standing on the table.)
• Ich setze mich auf den Stuhl. (I sit down on the chair.) / Ich sitze auf dem Stuhl. (I'm sitting on the chair.)
• Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. (I hang the picture on the wall.) / Das Bild hängt an der Wand. (The picture is hanging on the wall.)

Use legen and liegen for flat things. Use stellen and stehen for upright things. A book on a table is usually flat, while a bottle on a table is usually upright.

Other verbs can help too. Gehen (to go), fahren (to drive), fliegen (to fly), and kommen (to come) usually answer Wohin? with these prepositions. Sein (to be), wohnen (to live), arbeiten (to work), and bleiben (to stay) usually answer Wo?.

For example, Ich fahre in die Stadt. (I'm driving into the city.) describes a destination. Ich wohne in der Stadt. (I live in the city.) describes a location. These are useful habits, but you should still check what the sentence means.

Contractions: im, am, ins, and ans

• Im and am are Dativ forms.
• Ins and ans are Akkusativ forms.

German often joins a preposition and an article into one short word.

You may also hear aufs, which is auf + das: Ich lege das Buch aufs Bett. (I put the book on the bed.)

The contraction shows the case. Learning ins and im together gives you the rule in a short form: ins means a destination, while im means a location.

Movement does not always mean Akkusativ

• Movement inside one place takes Dativ.
• What matters is whether something changes place.

Do not use Akkusativ just because a person or object moves. Ask whether it moves to a new place.

Ich jogge im Park. (I go jogging in the park.) This is Dativ because you stay inside the park while you jog.

Ich jogge in den Park. (I jog into the park.) This is Akkusativ because you start outside and end up inside the park.

The same difference appears here:

• Das Kind springt auf dem Bett. (The child is jumping on the bed.) The child stays on the bed, so use Dativ.
• Das Kind springt auf das Bett. (The child jumps onto the bed.) The child was not on the bed before, so use Akkusativ.

When the Wo and Wohin rule does not apply

• In time expressions, an, in, and vor take Dativ.
• After some verbs, the preposition has a fixed case.
• Über meaning "about" always takes Akkusativ.

The location question does not help in these sentences because they are not about a location.

For time expressions, use Dativ:

• am Montag (on Monday)
• im Mai (in May)
• in einer Stunde (in an hour)
• vor einer Woche (a week ago)
• vor dem Essen (before the meal)

Some verbs need one fixed preposition and case, so learn the verb, the preposition, and the case together:

• warten auf + Akkusativ: Ich warte auf den Bus. (I'm waiting for the bus.)
• denken an + Akkusativ: Ich denke an meine Familie. (I'm thinking of my family.)
• sprechen über + Akkusativ: Wir sprechen über den Film. (We're talking about the film.)
• Angst haben vor + Dativ: Ich habe Angst vor dem Hund. (I'm afraid of the dog.)

In these examples, the preposition does not describe a physical destination or location. So do not ask Wo? or Wohin? to choose the case.

Mistakes English speakers make

Using Dativ after a destination

Wrong: Ich gehe in der Park.

Right: Ich gehe in den Park. (I'm going into the park.)

You are changing place, so use Akkusativ. Der Park becomes den Park.

Using Akkusativ for movement inside a place

Wrong: Ich jogge in den Park. when you mean you jog around inside the park.

Right: Ich jogge im Park. (I go jogging in the park.)

You stay in one place, so use Dativ.

Using this rule with every preposition

The Wo? and Wohin? rule only decides the case for these nine prepositions. Zu (to) and nach (to) can answer Wohin?, but they do not follow this rule.

Say Ich gehe zum Bahnhof. (I'm going to the station.) You use Dativ after zu, and zum is zu + dem. Say Ich fahre nach Berlin. (I'm driving to Berlin.) There is no article after nach here, so you have no case to choose.

For nach, zu, aus (from), and von (from), read our Dativ prepositions post.

Changing the meaning of warten auf

Wrong: Ich warte auf dem Bus.

Right: Ich warte auf den Bus. (I'm waiting for the bus.)

The wrong sentence means that you are waiting on top of the bus. With warten auf, use Akkusativ because the verb has a fixed preposition and case.

What to do next

The best next step is to use the rule in practice. Try the Prepositions Room game, a timed 3D room game where you read a German sentence and put the object in the right place. It practices auf (on), in (in), unter (under), neben (next to), vor (in front of), hinter (behind), and zwischen (between). It does not include an or über.

Then use the Dativ Prepositions game to practice choosing the preposition in Wohin?, Wo?, and Woher? (where from?) sentences.