The accusative after most verbs
Most verbs in German are used with a direct accusative object:
kochen Jamie kocht ein Fischgericht.
schreiben Sie schreibt einen Brief.
vermissen Sie vermissen ihre alten Freunde.
These verbs are called transitive verbs. You can find out which verbs are
transitive by checking in the dictionary as these verbs are indicated with
the letters vt.
The accusative after prepositions
The accusative case is always used after the prepositions bis‘until’,durch
‘through’,für‘for’,gegen‘against’,ohne‘without’,um‘round’:
Das Geschenk ist nicht für dich.
The present is not for you.
OhneseinHandy verlässt er nie das Haus.
He never leaves the house without his mobile.
It is also used after an‘at’, ‘on’ auf‘on’,hinter‘behind’,in‘in’, ‘(in)to’,
neben‘next to’, über‘above’,unter‘under’,vor‘before’/‘in front of ’ and
zwischen‘between’ (all of which are called Wechselpräpositionen) when
movement is implied:
Sie gehen täglich in denPark.
They go to the park every day.
Er stellt die Lampe neben dasRegal.
He puts the lamp next to the shelves.
Other triggers – some expressions
The accusative forms are also used after some expressions. They include:
- es gibt ‘there is’/‘there are’: Es gibt keinen Alkohol ‘There is no
alcohol’;
- greetings and wishes where ‘Wishing you a.. .’, is implied: Guten
Abend!‘Good evening!’; Herzlichen Glückwunsch!‘Congratulations!’.
26 Unit 4: Cases
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