How do you know which case to use after German prepositions?

There are three possible cases that follow prepositions: accusative, dative or genitive. The following prepositions are followed by the accusative case: bis,durch, fuer, gegen, ohne, um Example- Ich will ohne dich nicht zum Party gehen. The following prepositons are followed by the dative: aus, ausser, bei gegenueber, mit, nach ,seit, von, zu Example- Er ging jeden Tag zu der (zur) Schule. The following prepositons are followed by the gentivie case: anstatt, trotz, waehrend, wegen Example- Trotz des schlechten Wetters ging er draussen. The following verbs take both accusative and dative: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, ueber, unter, vor, zwischen -The prepositions are followed by the accusative case if movement is involved. Example- Er legte den Stift auf den Tisch. -Yet when the phrase does not involve movement the prepositions are followed by the dative case: Example- Der Stift lag auf dem Tisch. 

TV
Answered by Thorkild V. German tutor

9987 Views

See similar German GCSE tutors

Related German GCSE answers

All answers ▸

When is the verb sent to the end of the sentence?


How do I remember which words take être instead of avoir in the past tense?


Beschreibe bitte deine letzten Sommerferien.


What is the difference between 'wenn' and 'wann'?


We're here to help

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

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning