Intermediate German: A Grammar and Workbook

Accusative Dative Accusative Genitive

or dative

ohnewithout mitwith, by (train überabove, over

umat, round etc.) unterunder

nachafter, to vorbefore, in front of

seitsince, for zwischenbetween

vonfrom, of

zuto

The following sections will explain these prepositions in more detail.

Prepositions +accusative

Meaning and most common usage

Here is a summary of the most common usage of prepositions+accusative.

Note that, depending on the context, prepositions can have more than

one meaning.

• bis– ‘until’, ‘by’:
  Das Geschäft ist bis vier geöffnet.
  The shop is open until four.
  Es muss bis nächsten Samstag fertig sein.
  It has to be finished by next Saturday.
  Note that bisis often used with another preposition like zu, which
  then determines the case endings: Bis zum Wochenende!‘Until the
  weekend!’


• durch– ‘through’, ‘by (means of )’:
  Gehen wir durch den Park?
  Shall we go through the park?
  Er verriet sich durch seinen Akzent.
  He betrayed himself by his accent.


• für– ‘for’:
  Für ihren Sohn würde sie alles tun.
  She would do anything for her son.

Unit 16: Prepositions 117

111

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1011

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13

4111

5

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9

2011

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3011

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4011

1

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41111