A1 · Prepositions
Prepositions with the accusative
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um
Five words, one case, no exceptions — worth memorising as a line.
Five prepositions always take the accusative and never anything else: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. There is no rule behind the membership of this group — it is a historical accident — so a memorised line is the honest way to hold it, and German courses have taught it as a chant for a century.
Because the accusative only changes the masculine, the case is invisible three times out of four: für die Frau and für das Kind look like the nominative. It shows up on für den Mann, ohne einen Ausweis, gegen meinen Rat — and on any adjective in between.
Two of them contract with the neuter article in speech and in writing: durch das becomes durchs, für das becomes fürs, um das becomes ums. These are ordinary rather than casual, though the uncontracted form is never wrong.
Die Form
| durch — through | durch den Park |
| für — for | für meinen Bruder |
| gegen — against | gegen die Wand |
| ohne — without | ohne einen Grund |
| um — around | um den Tisch |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
durch, für, gegen, ohne and um always take the accusative.
Das Geschenk ist für meinen Vater.The present is for my father.
um also gives a clock time, and then no article follows.
Wir treffen uns um acht.We are meeting at eight.
ohne is followed by a bare noun far more often than English "without" is.
Ich trinke den Kaffee ohne Zucker.I take my coffee without sugar.
durchs, fürs and ums are the ordinary contracted forms with das.
Danke fürs Mitnehmen.Thanks for the lift.
Genauer hingesehen
Why a case at all
A preposition and a case are doing the same job twice: both say what relation the noun stands in. German keeps both, which looks redundant and is not quite — the case is what lets the phrase be moved to the front of the sentence without ambiguity, and it is what distinguishes the nine two-case prepositions.
The five here are the ones where the redundancy really is redundant: ohne can only mean one thing, so the accusative after it carries no information. That is precisely why it has to be memorised — nothing in the sentence would be lost if it were wrong, and so nothing reminds you.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the phrase is bis plus another preposition
bis takes the accusative on its own but hands the case over when a second preposition follows: bis zum Bahnhof.
Wir fahren bis zum Bahnhof.We are going as far as the station.
The second preposition governs the noun; bis only modifies it.
-
um is used with a time
no article follows and no case is visible.
Der Termin ist um zehn.The appointment is at ten.
Clock times behave as names rather than as nouns.
Woran man es erkennt
- durch
- für
- gegen
- ohne
- um
- fürs
- ums
Beispielsätze
Wir sind durch den Tunnel gefahren.We drove through the tunnel.
Er hat nichts gegen den Vorschlag.He has nothing against the proposal.
Ohne dich wäre das nicht gegangen.It would not have worked without you.
Der Zug fährt um Viertel nach sechs.The train leaves at a quarter past six.
Sie ist um den ganzen See gelaufen.She walked all the way around the lake.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Ich habe ein Buch für dich.I have a book for you.
Sie kam ohne ihren Mann.She came without her husband.
Das Auto ist gegen einen Baum gefahren.The car hit a tree.
Wir gehen durch den Park nach Hause.We are walking home through the park.
Er hat sich um alles gekümmert.He took care of everything.
Danke für die Einladung.Thank you for the invitation.
Ohne Termin geht das leider nicht.I am afraid that is not possible without an appointment.
Um diese Zeit ist wenig los.There is not much going on at this time.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
für does not mean "for" in a time expression
English "for two hours" is German <z>zwei Stunden</z> with no preposition at all, or <z>seit zwei Stunden</z> if it is still going on. <z>Für zwei Stunden</z> exists but means the time was set aside in advance: <z>Ich bin für zwei Tage in Berlin</z>. This is one of the commonest small errors in learners' German and it is entirely invisible to the person making it.
Wir haben zwei Stunden gewartet.We waited for two hours.
-
gegen also means "around" with a time
<z>Gegen acht</z> is "at about eight" — an approximate time rather than opposition. It is very common in arranging to meet and does not sound vague; German has no other short way of saying it, since <z>ungefähr um acht</z> is a whole phrase.
Ich komme gegen sieben.I will come at about seven.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
The dative arrives by itself here because so many of the prepositions a learner meets first — mit, bei, zu, von, nach — take it. These five are the counterweight, and they are worth over-practising for exactly that reason: the mistake is not a gap in knowledge but the wrong reflex winning.
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um — always accusative.
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