In our last lesson we have covered two very important groups of German prepositions, those that require nouns in the Dative case and those that are to be used with the  Accusative case.

Today we are introducing another group of German prepositions. This one is a bit more challenging; these are so called two-way prepositions. They either require a noun in the Dative case or a noun in the Accusative case.

What does it depend on? Pure logic… and a couple of questions. More specifically, the questions are ‘wo?'(which means ‘where?’) and ‘wohin?’ (which means’where to?’).

When such preposition answers the question ‘wo?’ it takes the dative case; alternatively if the same preposition answers the question ‘wohin?’ it takes the dative case. Sounds pretty simple. However, it is not exactly like this. The problem is that native speakers know instantly which one to use. But when you study German as a foreign language, you will find yourself struggling by choosing the right question.

Let’s see how it actually works.

PREPOSITIONS

an	at, on, to
auf	at, to, on, upon
hinter	behind
in	in, into
neben	beside, near, next to
über	about, above, across, over
unter	under, among
vor	in front of, before; ago (time)
zwischen	between

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXAMPLES

	Accusative Case/Wohin?	Dative Case/Wo?
an	Wir hängen das Bild an die Wand. The process of hanging the picture on the wall.	Das Bild hängt an der Wand. The picture is already hanging on the wall.
auf	Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. The process of putting the book on the table.	Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. The book is already on the table.
hinter	Stell das Fahrrad hinter das Haus! The process of putting the bicycle behind the house.	Das Fahrrad steht hinter dem Haus. The bicycle is already standing behind the house.
in	Ich stelle die Blumen in die Vase. The process of putting the flowers into the vase.	Die Blumen sind in der Vase. The flowers are already in the vase.
neben	Markus  setzt sich neben seine Frau. Markus takes a seat next to his wife.	Markus sitzt neben seiner Frau. Markus already sits next to his wife.
über	Er hängt die Lampe über den Tisch. The process of hanging the lamp above the table.	Die Lampe hängt über dem Tisch. The lamp is already hanging above the table.
unter	Die Katze legt sich unter den Tisch. — The cat is only taking its place under the table.	Die Katze liegt unter dem Tisch. The cat is already under the table.
vor	Er stellt das Auto vor das Haus. The process of putting the car in front of the house.	Das Auto steht vor dem Haus. The car is already standing in front of the house.
zwischen	Martina setzt sich zwischen ihren Sohn und ihre Tochter. Martina takes her place between her kids.	Martina sitzt zwischen ihrem Sohn und ihrer Tochter. Martina is already sitting between the kids.

As you see, it is not as simple as it sounded before. But one thing should be a hint for you. The accusative case is all about motion and process whereas the dative case is more about the final place where something/someone is standing, or sitting, or hanging, etc.

EXERCIZES

Use the correct grammar case (Dative or Accusative)

1. 1969 landete der erste Mensch auf … Mond (dem, den)

2. Morgen gehen wir in … Museum (das, dem).

3. Den ganzen Tag saß er in … Sonne neben … Baum. (der, die; einen, einem)

4. Sie trägt einen warmen Mantel über … Kleid. (das, dem)

5. Der Blumentopf steht an … Fenster. (dem, das)

6. Der Bäcker steht hinter … Ladentisch. (dem, den)

Answer the following questions correctly using the provided suggestions.

1. Wohin geht Peter? (die Schule)

2. Wohin hängst du den Mantel? (der Schrank)

3. Wohin stellt Peter den Wagen? (die Garage)

4. Wo liegt das Buch? (das Regal)

5. Wo ist die Mappe? (das Büro)

6. Wo ist die Wurst? (der Kühlschrank)

7. Wohin legt der Vater die Wäsche? (die Waschmaschine)

8. Wo ist Martin? (das Badezimmer)

9. Wohin stellst du den Fahrrad? (der Zaun)

10. Wohin fährt der Onkel? (der Wald)

As usual you will find the correct answers in the comments section.