What are the different types of prepositions and how do I know which one to use and how?

There are 3 types of prepositions, akkusativ, dativ and genetiv. Akkusativ is when something is the object in the sentence and is certain prepositions like fuer and durch that always take akkusativ. This means that the following article (der/ein) is the akkusativ form (den/die/das/die or einen/eine/ein/eine). Dativ prepositions are things like nach bis and mit which cause the article to take the dative form (dem/der/dem/den or einem/einer/einem/einen). Some prepositions however can be both akkusativ or dativ depending on the context. These are transitive prepositions e.g. in and an. Transitive prepositions take dativ when there is no movement and akkusativ when there is movement. For example I go in the building 'Ich gehe in das Gebaeude'(there is movement into the building) vs I am in the building 'Ich bin in dem Gebaeude' (no movement).

EO
Answered by Emily O. German tutor

2253 Views

See similar German GCSE tutors

Related German GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Which of the following sentences correctly forms the perfect tense? a) Er hat ein Buch gelest. b) Letztes Jahr bin ich nach Berlin gefahren. c) Wir haben in die Schule gegangen.


Spanish GCSE Question: Difference between SER and ESTAR.


Why are there so many different forms of "the" in German?


When do I use 'sein' and when do I use 'haben' in the past tense?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences