🇩🇪 Nominativ – Akkusativ – Dativ: Die drei wichtigsten Fälle
German has four grammatical cases. Three of them — Nominative, Accusative and Dative — appear in almost every sentence you will ever speak or write. Once you understand these three cases, over 90% of German grammar falls into place.
Ask yourself: Who is doing the action? (Nominative) / What/Whom is directly affected? (Accusative) / To/For whom? (Dative)
1. Der Nominativ (Nominative Case)
The nominative is the case of the subject — the person or thing performing the action.
| Gender | Definite | Indefinite | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine (m) | der | ein | Der Mann schläft. |
| Feminine (f) | die | eine | Die Frau liest. |
| Neuter (n) | das | ein | Das Kind spielt. |
| Plural | die | — | Die Kinder lachen. |
2. Der Akkusativ (Accusative Case)
The accusative is the case of the direct object — the person or thing directly affected by the verb. Ask: Wen? / Was? (Whom? / What?)
| Gender | Definite | Indefinite | Change? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine (m) | den | einen | ⚠️ Changes! |
| Feminine (f) | die | eine | No change |
| Neuter (n) | das | ein | No change |
| Plural | die | — | No change |
3. Der Dativ (Dative Case)
The dative is the case of the indirect object — the person for or to whom something is done. Ask: Wem? (To whom?)
| Gender | Definite | Indefinite | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine (m) | dem | einem | Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. |
| Feminine (f) | der | einer | Ich helfe der Frau. |
| Neuter (n) | dem | einem | Er gibt dem Kind Milch. |
| Plural | den (+n) | — | Ich danke den Lehrern. |
📐 Summary: The Three Cases at a Glance
Nominative = Subject (Who does it?) → Der Hund bellt.
Accusative = Direct Object (What/Whom?) → Ich sehe den Hund.
Dative = Indirect Object (To/For whom?) → Ich gebe dem Hund Wasser.
✏️ Übungen (Practice)
1. "The dog eats the bread." — Is "the dog" Nominative or Accusative? Answer: Nominative (it performs the action).
2. Fill in: Ich sehe ___ Frau. (die/den/der?) Answer: die (feminine accusative = no change).
3. Fill in: Er gibt ___ Kind ein Geschenk. Answer: dem (neuter dative).
4. Which case follows "für"? Answer: Accusative.
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