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Lesson 3 of your German course
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The Four Cases: What They Are and How to Spot Them
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B1.2 · Grammar · ~25 minutes
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+ Cases in German tell you what role a noun is playing in the sentence. Once you can identify the role, you know which article ending to use — and those endings stop feeling random. There are four cases.
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Nominativ
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Who or what is doing the action?
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The subject of the sentence. Every sentence has one.
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+ Der Arzt ruft mich an. → The doctor calls me.
+ Die Schule ist morgen zu. → The school is closed tomorrow.
+ Das Kind schläft. → The child is sleeping.
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Akkusativ
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Who or what is directly affected by the action?
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The direct object — what the verb is acting on.
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+ Ich rufe den Arzt an. → I call the doctor.
+ Wir brauchen einen Termin. → We need an appointment.
+ Er hat das Formular ausgefüllt. → He filled in the form.
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Dativ
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To whom or for whom?
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The indirect object — the recipient or beneficiary. Also required after certain prepositions (mit, bei, nach, von, zu, aus, seit, gegenüber).
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+ Ich gebe dem Arzt die Überweisung. → I give the doctor the referral.
+ Wir wohnen bei dem (beim) Bäcker. → We live near the bakery.
+ Sie fährt mit dem Auto. → She's driving the car.
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Genitiv
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Whose? Of what?
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Shows possession or belonging. Common in writing; in spoken German von + Dativ is often used instead.
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+ Das ist das Auto des Kollegen. → That's the colleague's car.
+ Die Adresse der Schule. → The school's address.
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How the articles change
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Only the article changes — the noun itself almost never changes. Here are the definite articles (der/die/das) across all four cases:
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+ masculine |
+ feminine |
+ neuter |
+ plural |
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+ | Nominativ |
+ der |
+ die |
+ das |
+ die |
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+ | Akkusativ |
+ den |
+ die |
+ das |
+ die |
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+ | Dativ |
+ dem |
+ der |
+ dem |
+ den |
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+ | Genitiv |
+ des |
+ der |
+ des |
+ der |
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+ The one thing worth memorising first: only masculine changes in Akkusativ: der → den. Feminine, neuter, and plural stay the same. This is why den Arzt, einen Termin, den Ölwechsel — all masculine accusative.
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The indefinite articles (ein/eine) follow the same pattern:
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+ masculine |
+ feminine |
+ neuter |
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+ | Nominativ |
+ ein |
+ eine |
+ ein |
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+ | Akkusativ |
+ einen |
+ eine |
+ ein |
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+ | Dativ |
+ einem |
+ einer |
+ einem |
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How to identify the case in a real sentence
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Ask these questions in order:
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+ - Who is doing the action? → Nominativ
+ - What is the verb directly acting on? → Akkusativ
+ - To/for whom? → Dativ
+ - Is there a preposition? → look up whether it takes Akkusativ or Dativ (or both)
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+ Der Mechaniker
+ Nominativ (subject)
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+ zeigt
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+ mir
+ Dativ (to me)
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+ den Kostenvoranschlag.
+ Akkusativ (direct object)
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The mechanic shows me the cost estimate. — Three roles at once.
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Prepositions that fix the case
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Some prepositions always take the same case. These are worth knowing cold:
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+ | Always Akkusativ |
+ Always Dativ |
+ Two-way (location/direction) |
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+ durch, für, gegen, ohne, um |
+ aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber |
+ an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen |
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+ Er wartet ohne den Arzt.
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+ Ich fahre mit dem Auto.
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+ in dem Zimmer (where?) vs in das Zimmer (going where?)
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+ Two-way prepositions: location (staying in a place) → Dativ. Direction (moving toward a place) → Akkusativ. Ich bin im (in dem) Wartezimmer vs. Ich gehe in das Wartezimmer.
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Drill — which case is needed?
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For each sentence, choose the correct form.
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Primary source
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+ Deutsche Welle: Die vier Fälle — a clear explanation with examples, directly from DW's German course. Read it after finishing this lesson.
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+ Ask your teacher: If a sentence confuses you — from class, from a sign, from a work email — bring it here and ask which case is at work and why. Seeing it in real sentences is what builds the reflex.
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