A2 · Prepositions
The nine that take two cases
where against where to
Dative for a position, accusative for a movement — one question that settles all nine.
Nine prepositions take either case: in, an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen. Which one they take is not arbitrary and not a property of the preposition — it is a question about the sentence.
Ask wo? — where is it? — and the answer is dative. Ask wohin? — where is it going? — and the answer is accusative. Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch is a position; ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch is a movement onto it. Same preposition, same table, different question.
The verb usually gives it away, which is why German keeps three pairs of them: liegen/legen, stehen/stellen, sitzen/setzen, plus hängen doing both. The first of each pair is a state and takes the dative; the second is putting something somewhere and takes the accusative.
Die Form
| where — dative | Das Bild hängt an der Wand. |
| where to — accusative | Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. |
| state verbs | liegen, stehen, sitzen, hängen — dative |
| placing verbs | legen, stellen, setzen, hängen — accusative |
| contractions | im, am, ins, ans, aufs, vors |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
Dative answers wo — where something is.
Wir sitzen im Garten.We are sitting in the garden.
Accusative answers wohin — where something is going.
Wir gehen in den Garten.We are going into the garden.
liegen, stehen, sitzen and hängen describe a state and take the dative.
Die Flasche steht auf dem Tisch.The bottle is on the table.
legen, stellen, setzen and hängen describe placing and take the accusative.
Stell die Flasche auf den Tisch.Put the bottle on the table.
Genauer hingesehen
What the two cases are really marking
The dative here is doing what it does everywhere else: marking something as a setting rather than as a target. The accusative marks a goal — the thing the action is aimed at. So the two-case prepositions are not an exception to the case system, they are the clearest demonstration of it, because the same preposition shows both meanings side by side.
English marks the difference too, just not with cases and not consistently: "in" against "into", "on" against "onto", "under" against "underneath". It has run out of pairs — there is no "behindto" — and falls back on the verb. German never runs out, because the marking is on the article rather than on the preposition.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the phrase is a time expression with in, an or vor
the dative is used regardless: in einer Woche, am Montag, vor drei Jahren.
Vor drei Jahren sind wir hergezogen.We moved here three years ago.
Time is being treated as a setting rather than as a destination.
-
the verb takes a fixed preposition as part of its meaning — warten auf, denken an, sich freuen auf
the case is fixed by the verb and has nothing to do with movement.
Ich warte auf den Bus.I am waiting for the bus.
The preposition is no longer describing a place at all, so the question wo or wohin does not apply.
Woran man es erkennt
- in
- an
- auf
- über
- unter
- vor
- hinter
- neben
- zwischen
- wo
- wohin
Beispielsätze
Der Schlüssel liegt auf dem Tisch.The key is on the table.
Ich lege den Schlüssel auf den Tisch.I am putting the key on the table.
Sie wohnt in der Stadt.She lives in town.
Sie fährt in die Stadt.She is going into town.
Zwischen den Häusern ist ein schmaler Weg.There is a narrow path between the houses.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Das Bild hängt über dem Sofa.The picture hangs above the sofa.
Häng das Bild bitte über das Sofa.Please hang the picture above the sofa.
Die Katze schläft unter dem Bett.The cat is asleep under the bed.
Der Ball ist unter das Bett gerollt.The ball rolled under the bed.
Wir warten vor dem Kino.We are waiting in front of the cinema.
Stell dich bitte neben mich.Please stand next to me.
Im Sommer sind wir oft am See.In summer we are often at the lake.
Setz dich doch ans Fenster.Do sit by the window.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
The contractions differ by case
The dative contractions are <z>im, am, vorm, hinterm, unterm</z>; the accusative ones are <z>ins, ans, aufs, vors, übers</z>. So the contraction itself tells you the case, which makes it a useful check when writing: if you meant a movement and wrote <z>im</z>, something has gone wrong.
Ich gehe ins Kino und sitze im Kino.I am going to the cinema and sitting in the cinema.
-
Three pairs of verbs, and one that does both
<z>Liegen – legen</z>, <z>stehen – stellen</z>, <z>sitzen – setzen</z>: the first of each is strong and intransitive and describes a state; the second is weak and transitive and describes putting something there. <z>Hängen</z> is both, and tells them apart by its own forms: strong (<z>hing</z>) for the state, weak (<z>hängte</z>) for the action.
Das Bild hing an der Wand; ich hängte es dorthin.The picture hung on the wall; I hung it there.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
The wrong sentence is grammatical and means "I am walking around inside the kitchen", which is rarely what anybody wants to say. Because both versions are possible sentences, nothing corrects you — the listener simply understands something else. Ask the question before you choose the case: wo or wohin.
wo — dative. wohin — accusative.
Jetzt selbst
5 Aufgaben zu diesem Thema. Die Antworten werden im Browser geprüft; nichts davon verlässt Ihr Gerät.