After genders, cases are the next great German puzzle. The article changes with the noun’s job in the sentence — Akkusativ for the direct object, Dativ for the indirect object, and after certain verbs and prepositions. This trainer drills the two trickiest cases with a rule after every answer.
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The case endings at a glance
| masc | fem | neut | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der | die | das | die |
| Akkusativ | den | die | das | die |
| Dativ | dem | der | dem | den(+n) |
Shortcuts that make cases easier
- Only the masculine article changes in the accusative (der → den). Fem, neut and plural stay the same.
- Dative prepositions: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu — always dative.
- Accusative prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um — always accusative.
- Two-way prepositions: movement → accusative, location → dative.
- Dative verbs to memorise: helfen, danken, gehören, gefallen, antworten.
Want the full case system explained simply, with exercises? The German Grammar Essentials workbook walks you through it.
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