Cases in the German Language

If you are an English-only speaker, and are not a grammarian, you may be unfamiliar with the case system.  Cases tell what function a word serves, and often change that word accordingly.  This probably sounds a bit complicated, but it's easier than it sounds--I promise!  Let's look at an English example to start with.  Think about if you want to talk about yourself.  We have four different words that can be used, depending upon what is happening to you: "I," "me," "my," and "mine."  If you are the subject of the sentence, you use the word "I."  If you are the direct or indirect object of the verb--that is, if something happens to you--you use the word "me."  And if you want to show that you own something, you would use "my" or "mine." The same pattern follows with "he," "his," and "him," and "she," "her," and "hers."  This is just a small example, because case does not figure prominantly in the English language--just in pronouns.  In German, however, case affects not only pronouns, but also articles and the endings on adjectives (and sometimes nouns) as well.  Luckily, German only has four cases to learn.  In the following, I will provide a brief guide to help you learn and understand these four cases.

This case is probably the first case you will learn/have learned if you study German, as it is the most straightforward. This case describes the subject of the sentence. This is the form words may be displayed in a dictionary.

Nominative pronouns include "ich" ("I"), "du" (informal singular "you"), "er" ("he"), "sie," ("she" and "they"), "es" ("it"), "wir" ("we"), ihr (plural "you"), and "Sie" (formal singular "you")

Nominative articles include "der" ("the" - masculine), "die" ("the" - feminine), "das" ("the" - neuter), "ein" ("a" - masculine and neuter) and "eine" ("a" - feminine and plural).

When an adjective is used to describe a noun that stands in the nominative case, it will either have the ending "-er" (masculine ein-words and nouns not preceded by an article), "-e" (masculine, feminine, neuter der words; feminine ein-words; and feminine and plural nouns not preceded by an article), or "-en" (plural der- and ein-words)

Here are a few examples of the nominative case, written in bold.

Der braune Hund schläft. (The brown dog is sleeping.)

Die böse Hexe schreite. (The terrible witch screamed.)

Ein blaues Heft liegt am Tisch. (A blue notebook is on the table.)

Sie gehen nach Hause. (They are going home.)

This case describes the direct object of the verb--that is, who or what the subject does the action to.

Accusative pronouns include "mich" ("me"), "ihn" ("him"), "sie," ("her" and "them"), "es" ("it"), "dich" (informal singular "you"), "uns" ("us"), "euch" (plural "you"), and "Sie" (formal "you").

Accusative articles are the same as nominative articles, except "der," which changes to "den," and masculine "ein" becomes "einen" (neuter "ein" stays "ein" in the accusative).  Or as my German teacher would say "'Der' changes to 'den,' and the rest remain the same." ;) 

Adjectives in the accusative case use the same endings as they would if in the nominative case, except for singular masculine nouns, which take an "-en" ending for der-words, ein-words, and nouns not preceded by an article.

Here are some examples of the accusative, bolded.

Er schlug ihn. (He hit him.)

Wir kochen die Suppe. (We're cooking the soup.)

Ich kaufe eine rote Bluse. (I'm buying a red blouse.)

The accusative case is also used with the prepositions "bis," "durch," "für," "gegen," "ohne," and "um."

Ist das Geschenk für mich? (Is that gift for me?)

Er hat sein Auto gegen eine Wand gefahren. (He crashed his car into a wall.) ("sein Auto" is also in accusative case)

Ohne dich bin ich ganz allein. (Without you, I'm quite alone.)

When used with "two-way" prepositions (prepositions that can take more than one case, depending upon what function it serves), accusative case indicates a change in motion or condition. Example:

Ich gehe in das Wald. (I am walking into the forest. i.e. I was not in the forest before, but now I am.)

vs.

Ich gehe in dem Wald. (I am walking in the forest. i.e. I was already in the forest and I have not left it. I am simply walking around within it.)

This case describes the indirect object. This means it is the receiver of something.

Dative prepositions include "mir" ("me"), "dir" (informal "you"), "ihm" ("him" and "it"), "ihr" ("her"), "uns" ("us"), "euch" (plural "you"), "ihnen" ("them"), and "Ihnen" (formal "you").

Dative articles are "dem" ("the" - masculine and neuter), "der" ("the" - feminine), "den" ("the" - plural), "einem" ("a" - masculine and neuter), "einer" ("a" - feminine).

Adjectives in the dative case take the "-en" ending with all der- and ein-words, no matter the gender or number. With nouns that do not have an article, masculine and neuter nouns use the ending "-em," feminine nouns use the ending "-er," and plural nouns use the "-en" ending.

Here are some examples.

Gib mir das Buch. (Give me the book.)

Er dankt ihm. (He thanked her. Literally, he's giving the thanks to her.)

Gefällt Ihnen dieser Rock? (Do you (formal) like this skirt? Literally, "Is this skirt pleasing to you (formal)?"

It is also used with the following prepositions: aus, auβer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber.

Hilf mir bei der Arbeit. (Help me with the work.)

Er kommt aus der Schweiz. (He comes from Switzerland.)

Sie hat die Briefe mit dem schwarzen Kuli geschrieben. (She wrote the letters with the black pen.)

With two-way prepositions, dative shows no change in condition or position. This is the "Ich gehe in dem Wald." example.

This case shows possession.  

Pronouns in the genitive case are "deren" (feminine and plural) and "dessen" (masculine and neuter).

Adjective endings used in the genitive case are "-en" for all nouns, except for feminine and plural nouns not preceded by an article--those use the "-er" ending.

The thing that's a bit different about the genitive case is that masculine and neuter nouns also often get an ending-- they add an -s or an -es.

Der Computer des jungen Mannes  ist kaputt.  (The young man's computer is broken.  Literally, "The computer of the young man is broken.")

Das ist das Auto meiner Mutter.  (That is my mother's car.  Literally, "That is the car of my mother.")

Das ist der Boxer, dessen Nase gebrochen wurde.  (That's the boxer whose nose was broken.)

The prepositions that take the genitive case are (an)statt, auβerhalb/innerhalb, trotz, während, wegen, angesichts, beiderseits, diesseits, jenseits, laut.

Während des Sommers schwimme ich gern.  (During the summer I like to swim.)

Trotz des schlechten Wetters spielten die Kinder drauβen.  (Despite the bad weather, the children played outside.

Wegen seiner Erkältung nieste er oft.  (Because of his cold he sneezed often.)