The Four German Cases Explained

For English speakers, the German language can be a bit intimidating at first. Between trying to learn the gender of all nouns, sort through indefinite articles, and pronounce things like "Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung" (yes, that's the actual word for "motor vehicle indemnity insurance"), putting together a sentence in German gets tough. However, there are a few ways you can drastically increase your fluency, and it all starts with getting a better understanding of the German case system.

There are four cases in German. The nominative and accusative cases are pretty easy to grasp, but dative and genitive cases are more difficult for native English speakers. To help you master your German grammar, we've put together a comprehensive overview of the German cases, when to use them, and some examples of each.

How Many Cases Does German Have?

There are four cases in German, each of which helps explain the function of the subject and its relationship to other parts of the sentence. While that can seem like a lot when you compare English and German, it's not too bad—Finnish has 15 cases!

The four cases are nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Although it's a foreign concept in English, German cases play an important role in identifying which noun is the subject and how the supporting verbs or prepositions relate to that subject. In English, this is mostly done with word order, so it can take some getting used to! To help, let's dive into a little more detail about the basics of German sentence structure before getting into which cases to use.

How Do German Cases Work?

Every single noun in German will always have a case, along with any word that belongs to the "word group" of the noun—i.e., articles, adjectives, and pronouns. Using the correct case requires a basic understanding of the German language, mainly regarding some rules, the gender of nouns, and a few strategic prepositions and verbs. Luckily, your introduction to German will start using different cases pretty quickly, so it's already a part of language learning.

How to Gender German Nouns

When learning to speak German, you'll quickly find that nouns are either masculine (der), neutral (das), or feminine (die). This means that every single German noun has a definite and indefinite article that matches their gender. Essentially, there will be different forms of "the" and "a/an" based on the gender of the noun. It's also important to note that, when in the plural form, all German nouns take the "die" article.

Unfortunately, there's no rhyme or reason for why something is masculine or feminine or neutral—you just have to memorize them. However, when you know articles in the German language, it makes applying changes based on cases much easier. Now, let's dive into the process of learning German cases.

Understanding the Nominative Case in German

The nominative case in German is used to identify the subject of the sentence (the person or thing doing the action). It answers the question "who?" or "what?" in a sentence. You can see the examples of the German nominative case in the chart below:

The nominative case describes the subject of a sentence, no matter what. It's the most basic and easy-to-use German case and is in the same form as the noun's basic articles. 

The examples below show how the nominative case is used. The subject in the nominative case is bolded.

Masculine:

• Der Hund bellt laut. — The dog barks loudly. 
• Ein Vogel singt im Baum. — A bird is singing in the tree.
• Der Lehrer erklärt die Regel. — The teacher explains the rule.

Neutral:

• Das Auto steht vor dem Haus. — The car is parked in front of the house.
• Ein Kind spielt im Park. — A child is playing in the park.

Feminine:

• Die Sonne scheint heute. — The sun is shining today.
• Die Blume ist wunderschön. — The flower is beautiful.

Plural:

• Die Blumen blühen im Garten. — The flowers are blooming in the garden.
• Die Hunde bellen laut. — The dogs bark loudly.

You'll also use nominative cases to understand how to conjugate German verbs and adapt German adjectives, but that's a topic for another day!

What is the Accusative Case in German?

The accusative case describes the direct object of a sentence (person or thing that receives the action). You can think of the thing being "verbed" in a sentence. As sentences get more complex, some people have trouble with adding cases. To help you practice, download Tandem and match with a native German speaker today. Until then, let's take a look at how the articles change for the German accusative case in the chart below:

This case is nice, as only the masculine articles change. All of the rest stay the same. Easy enough, right? Let's explore some examples below to demonstrate how the accusative case is used. The direct object in the accusative case is bolded.

Masculine:

• Ich sehe den Mann. — I see the man. (the man is the object being seen)
• Er liebt den Hund. — He loves the dog. (the dog is the object being loved)

Neutral:

• Ich trinke das Wasser. — I drink the water. (the water is the object being drunk)
• Er hat das Buch gelesen. — He has read the book. (the book is the object being read)

Feminine:

• Sie trägt die Blume. — She carries the flower. (the flower is the object being carried)
• Ich kenne die Frau. — I know the woman. (the woman is the object being known)

Plural:

• Wir hören die Lieder. — We hear the songs. (the songs are the objects being heard)
• Die Kinder spielen die Spiele. — The children play the games. (the games are the objects being played)

There are also some German prepositions that always pair with the accusative case. These include: 

• durch (through) 
• für (for)
• ohne (without)
• bis (until)
• um (around)
• entlang (along)
• gegen (against)
• wider (against/contrary to)

You can also put possessive pronouns into different German cases, as you'll see in a few of the following sentences. They will take the same endings as the chart above. For now, you can see the pattern, but don't stress too much about these yet—possessive pronouns are a whole different lesson. Some examples of sentences with accusative prepositions include:

• Durch den Wald geht eine schmale Straße. — Through the forest, there is a narrow road.

• Ich kaufe Blumen für meine Mutter. — I buy flowers for my mother.

• Ohne meinen Regenschirm gehe ich nicht nach draußen. — I don't go outside without my umbrella.

• Die Kinder rennen um den Spielplatz. — The children run around the playground.

• Der Fußball prallt gegen die Mauer. — The soccer ball bounces against the wall.

What is the Dative Case in German?

The dative case describes the indirect object of a sentence (to or for whom action is taken). It's essentially what's used to show who or what passively receives an action in a sentence. The tricky part about the German dative case is that all of the articles change and plural words sometimes get an "n" added to the end. You can see this in the chart below.

Deciding whether to use the accusative or dative case also gets a bit more complicated. Accusative and dative identify an object of the sentence, but accusative focuses on the direct object, while dative talks about the indirect object. Let's look at a few examples of how to use the dative below. The indirect object in the dative case is bolded.

Masculine:

• Ich gebe dem Mann einen Kaffee. — I give the man a coffee.
• Er hilft dem Freund bei den Hausaufgaben. — He helps the friend with homework.

Neutral:

• Das Kind gehört dem Vater. — The child belongs to the father.
• Er erklärt dem Kind die Geschichte. — He explains the story to the child.

Feminine:

• Sie gibt der Frau Blumen. — She gives flowers to the woman.
• Ich schreibe der Lehrerin einen Brief. — I write a letter to the teacher.

Plural:

• Wir chicken den Freunden eine Einladung. — We send an invitation to the friends.
• Die Eltern geben den Kindern Süßigkeiten. — The parents give candies to the children.

There are also several different prepositions and verbs that indicate the need to use the dative case. To help you dive deeper into this case, check out our comprehensive guide to the German dative case!

Accusative and dative cases help explain what German nouns are doing. However, many English speakers get confused about how to determine what's what, and that's normal. Practicing is the best way to perfect your use of the German cases, so don't be afraid to work them into conversations.

What is the Genitive Case in German?

The German genitive case describes possession in a sentence. It's used to indicate ownership of something or someone. It's often considered the "odd one out" in German learning, as most teachers or courses won't even touch it until students learn the other cases correctly. In English, we show possession using an apostrophe + s, such as "the dog's leash." In German, it's a bit different. You can see how the genitive case is formed in the chart below.

Let's look at a few examples of how to use the genitive case below. The genitive changes in the sentence are bolded.

Masculine:

• Der Hut des Mannes liegt auf dem Tisch. — The man's hat is on the table.

Neutral:

• Die Größe des Hauses überrascht mich. — The size of the house surprises me.

Feminine:

• Die Blüten der Blume duften herrlich. — The flower's blossoms smell delightful.

Plural:

• Die Bücher der Studenten liegen auf dem Tisch. — The students' books are on the table.

When learning the German cases, you absolutely need the genitive, but don't get too stressed about it yet. A lot of people even switch it out for "von + dative." Try to understand the cases that cover more basic sentence structure before you jump into this one.

How to Learn German Cases

The best way to learn German cases is to memorize some of the rules, learn the charts, and practice communicating with a native speaker. Remember that the function of the noun is clarified depending on the cases used in the sentence. As much as you might dread these grammatical nuances, learning the German language isn't complete without understanding how to change the case of each noun. We know... it can be a bit overwhelming. However, once you get the basics down, you'll start to pick up on things naturally. Once things click, you'll find that the word order in German is quite flexible and offers some fun opportunities to play around with structure. To help you reach that level of fluency, download Tandem.

Tandem offers a unique language learning experience that will help you deepen your understanding and improve your German pronunciation while learning to apply grammar rules in real conversations. All you need to do is download the app, sign up, and find a native speaker of your target language. Once you match, you’ll begin communicating through language exchange and one-on-one teaching. To join our worldwide community, sign up for Tandem today!