the Accusative Changes Articles
The accusative case primarily affects the masculine articles. Here’s how the articles change:
Definite Articles (The): The masculine definite article «der» changes to «den» in the accusative. The feminine definite article «die,» the neuter definite article «das,» and the plural definite article «die» all remain the same in the accusative.
Indefinite Articles (A/An): The masculine indefinite article «ein» changes to «einen» in the accusative. The feminine indefinite article «eine» and the neuter indefinite article «ein» remain the same in the accusative. There is no plural indefinite article in German.
Pronouns in the Accusative
Personal pronouns also change in the accusative case. Here’s how each pronoun changes from the nominative to the accusative:
«ich» (I) becomes «mich» (me)
«du» (you – informal, singular) becomes «dich» (you – informal, singular)
«er» (he) becomes «ihn» (him)
«sie» (she) remains «sie» (her) – Note: The accusative and nominative forms are the same for «she.»
«es» (it) remains «es» (it) – Note: The accusative and nominative forms are the same for «it.»
«wir» (we) becomes «uns» (us)
«ihr» (you – informal, plural) becomes «euch» (you – informal, plural)
«sie» (they) remains «sie» (them) – Note: The accusative and nominative forms are the same for «they.»
«Sie» (you – formal) remains «Sie» (you – formal) – Note: The accusative and nominative forms are the same for formal «you.»
Examples with Accusative Pronouns:
Ich sehe ihn. (ihh zay-e ihn) – I see him.
Sie liebt mich. (zee leept mihh) – She loves me.
Wir helfen euch. (veer hel-fen oihh) – We help you (plural, informal).
How to Identify the Accusative Object
A simple trick to finding the direct object is to ask «Whom?» or «What?» after the verb.
The man reads what? The book. (Das Buch – accusative)
She loves whom? Me. (Mich – accusative)
Word Bank
Nominativ (no-mi-na-teef) – Nominative
Akkusativ (ak-ku-za-teef) – Accusative
Subjekt (zoop-yekt) – Subject
Objekt (ob-yekt) – Object
der (dare) – the (masculine, nominative)
den (den) – the (masculine, accusative)
ein (ain) – a (masculine/neuter, nominative)
einen (ai-nen) – a (masculine, accusative)
mich (mihh) – me (accusative)
dich (dihh) – you (accusative, informal)
ihn (een) – him (accusative)
Exercises
Identify the nominative subject and the accusative object in the following sentences:
Die Frau kauft einen Apfel. (The woman buys an apple.)
Der Mann sieht das Auto. (The man sees the car.)
Das Kind liest ein Buch. (The child reads a book.)
Change the articles to the correct form in the accusative case:
Ich esse ______ Apfel. (der Apfel)
Sie sieht ______ Frau. (die Frau)
Wir kaufen ______ Haus. (das Haus)
Fill in the blanks with the correct accusative pronoun:
Ich liebe ______. (du)
Sie sieht ______. (er)
Wir helfen ______. (ihr)
Translate the following sentences into German, paying attention to the accusative case:
I see the man.
She loves him.
We are buying a car.
He helps me.
Rewrite the sentences from exercise 1 using pronouns instead of nouns for both the subject and object, applying the accusative case correctly.
Chapter 7: Dative Case
Now that you understand the nominative and accusative cases, let’s introduce the dative case. The dative case is used to indicate the indirect object of a sentence. It’s also used with certain prepositions.
What is the Indirect Object?
The indirect object is the person or thing that benefits from or is affected by the action of the verb. It’s often the recipient of something.
Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. (I give the man the book.) – «Dem Mann» is the indirect object; he is receiving the book.
Sie schenkt ihrer Freundin eine Blume. (She gives her friend a flower.) – «Ihrer Freundin» is the indirect object; she is receiving the flower.
Think of it this way: The direct object is what is being given, shown, or done, and the indirect object is to whom it’s being given, shown, or done.
How the Dative Changes Articles
The dative case changes all the definite and indefinite articles. Here’s how:
Masculine:
Definite article: der becomes dem
Indefinite article: ein becomes einem
Feminine:
Definite article: die becomes der
Indefinite article: eine becomes einer
Neuter:
Definite article: das becomes dem
Indefinite article: ein becomes einem
Plural:
Definite article: die becomes den (and the noun usually takes an -n ending, if it doesn’t already have one)
There is no indefinite article in the plural.
Notice that the masculine and neuter definite articles become the same (dem) in the dative, and the feminine definite article becomes the same as the masculine nominative article (der).
Pronouns in the Dative
Personal pronouns also change in the dative case. Here’s how:
ich (I) becomes mir (me)
du (you – informal, singular) becomes dir (you – informal, singular)
er (he) becomes ihm (him)
sie (she) becomes ihr (her)
es (it) becomes ihm (it)
wir (we) becomes uns (us)
ihr (you – informal, plural) becomes euch (you – informal, plural)
sie (they) becomes ihnen (them)
Sie (you – formal) becomes Ihnen (you – formal)
Examples with Dative Pronouns:
Ich helfe ihm. (ihh hel-fe eem) – I help him.
Sie dankt mir. (zee dankt meer) – She thanks me.
Wir geben euch das Buch. (veer gay-ben oihh das buuh) – We give you (plural, informal) the book.
Prepositions That Always Take the Dative
Certain prepositions always take the dative case, regardless of the verb in the sentence. Memorizing these prepositions is