German prepositions and their cases
A German preposition determines the case of everything that follows it, so getting the case wrong makes the whole phrase wrong. There are only three groups to learn, and the third one — the two-way prepositions — is the only genuinely tricky part.
The complete table
| German | English | Which case does it take? |
|---|---|---|
| in | in | Accusative / Dative |
| zu | to | Dative |
| an | at, on | Accusative / Dative |
| mit | with | Dative |
| auf | on, onto | Accusative / Dative |
| von | from, of | Dative |
| für | for | Accusative |
| bei | at, near, with | Dative |
| aus | from, out of | Dative |
| nach | after, to | Dative |
| um | at, around | Accusative |
| vor | before, in front of | Accusative / Dative |
| über | over, about | Accusative / Dative |
| durch | through | Accusative |
| bis | until, up to | Accusative |
| gegen | against, around | Accusative |
| unter | under, among | Accusative / Dative |
| ab | from, as of | Dative |
| seit | since, for | Dative |
The two-way rule, in one line
6 of these prepositions take either case. The rule is about movement, not meaning: use the accusative when something moves into the place, and the dative when it is already there. Ich gehe in die Stadt — I am going into town, accusative. Ich bin in der Stadt — I am in town, dative. The test is simple: ask "where to?" for accusative, "where at?" for dative.
Contractions you will see constantly
German merges many prepositions with the following article, and these are not optional in speech: in dem → im, an dem → am, zu dem → zum, zu der → zur, von dem → vom, bei dem → beim, in das → ins. Recognising them is half of understanding spoken German.
Try it
All 182 words are in the free trainer — flashcards, multiple choice, listening practice and spaced review. No account needed.