How to Use German Prepositions, with Examples

How to Use German Prepositions, with Examples
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Case By Case

As beginning students of German quickly become aware of, the German language features many “cases”, each and every single one having its own unique headaches. In German, certain prepositions take certain cases. When one says “to take the case of”, it means that the following noun object (and any associated articles and adjectives) will be declined in that case.

Be careful not to mix up independent prepositions with in/separable verbs with preposition prefixes. There is a fine line between the two structurally, but one that can mean something completely different if you stray on the wrong side.

For the most part, German preposition usage follows the same word order as in English; it is noted in this article where this is otherwise.

Bear in mind that these translations are only approximate: while following these translations will get you more-or-less understood, there are a few finer points of meaning that can be missed. The same English preposition may take on a myriad of meanings depending on the context, and it’s often the same with German prepositions. Many English phrases that use prepositions are replaced by entirely different structures in German – take the example of “auswendig”, translating to “by heart”. The reverse is also true. In fact, good use of idiomatic preposition usage is often considered a mark of true fluency. Seeing that there are far too many of these to possibly list in any article, it is advisable that if you have a question with regards to a translation that you ask a native, or failing that, looking it up in an online dictionary that translates idiomatic phrases. (I would personally recommend wordreference.com.)

Accusative Case Prepositions

These basic prepositions always take the accusative case, no matter the situation.

bis – until, up to, no later than*

durch – through, caused by

entlang – along, down*

für – for

gegen – against

ohne – without

um – around

* “entlang” is a bit tricky: it is placed after the object that it modifies, not before the object as with these other prepositions. For example, “Sie rennt die Strasse entlang”, translating as “She runs down the street.”

Dative Case Prepositions

These prepositions will always take the dative case, no matter the situation:

aus – from, out of

ausser – except for, besides

bei – at, in the vicinity, near*

gegenüber – opposite, across from**

mit – with, by means of

nach – after, to (geographical location)***

seit – since

von – from, (written) by

zu – to, at (people, nongeographical location, direction, desination)****

*“bei” will contract with “dem” to form “beim”.

** “gegenüber” can be placed either before or after the object that it modifies.

*** “nach” is usually placed after the object it modifies. It only very rarely requires an article.

**** “zu” contracts with “der” to form “zur” and with “dem” to form “zum”. Be careful to differentiate “nach” and “zu”.

“Two Way” Prepositions

Here’s where it gets tricky. So-called “two-way” prepositions may take the accusative or the dative case, depending on the circumstances. As a general rule, when the prepositions indicate movement of some sort, they take the accusative case, while if they indicate location, they take the dative case. Think of accusative as being the active one. Here are the changeable-case prepositions:

an – at, right by, next to*

auf – on, upon

hinter – behind

in – into**

neben – beside, next to

über – over, above; about

unter – under

vor – before, in front of, ago (time)

zwischen – between

* “an” contracts with “dem” to form “am”.

** “in” contracts with “das” to form “ins”, and with “dem” to form “im”.

Genitive Case Prepositions

These prepositions will similarly always take the genitive case.

(an)statt – instead of*

ausserhalb – outside of

innerhalb – inside of

in der Nähe – near

trotz – despite*

während – during*

wegen – because of*

*In informal spoken German, these prepositions will commonly take the dative case.

Compass directions also take the genitive case:

nördlich – north of

östlich – east of

südlich – south of

westlich – west of