First of all, why?!
I know it sounds like German grammar is needlessly hard, and the German cases seem absurd when you first start learning German. Most students complain saying “Why do I have to change the words?! Ist so complicated!”
I won’t argue that it’s easy, but I’d at least like to clear the missconception that it’s a unique thing. Most languages do have this to a certain degree. Yes, even English!
Example:
You don’t say: I give he a pen. rather I give him a pen.
Same thing in German: Ich gebe ihm einen Kuli. (Dativ)
In German, we just have to apply this same concept to a lot more words… The first step to be able to know which case to use (Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ or Genitiv):
some basic grammar concepts
German teachers often assume you already know these concepts, or just don’t have the time review them with you. If you already do know that are the verb, subject, object and indirect object, you’re already in advantage. If you don’t, or don’t remember, let’s review it.
A sentence has several components:
- The subject (nominative) is compulsory in German
- The predicate/verb is conjugated according to the subject
- Often an object (accusative)
- Sometimes an indirect object (dative)
- Sometimes complements that say when, how, where or why (these might just be adverbs, or come with a preposition and the case will be used accordingly)
- Occasionally references of property (whose?) with possessives or with the genitive case.
Verb or predicate:
Even if you don’t remember much grammar, most of you still know what is a verb, right? The verb is the word that represents the action in a sentence.
The farmer feeds the animals. -> Der Bauer füttert die Tiere.
The action is ‘to feed’, so that is the verb. Verbs are conjugated, not declined! That means, they do not change according to the case, rather according to the person and time (the farmer feeds – present time/ the farmer fed – past time). However, the verb is what dictates the case and therefore will help you recognize which case to use.
Nominativ => Subject:
The subject is the ‘main character’ or the ‘actor’ in a sentence, i.e. the person or thing that is doing the action mentioned by the verb.
Das Kind hat einen Rucksack. -> The child has a backpack. (the action is ‘to have’, the actor is ‘the child’)
Die Frau bekommt Blumen. -> The woman receives flowers. (the action is ‘to receive’, the actor is ‘the woman’)
Am Morgen geht der Junge in die Schule. -> In the morning the boy goes to school. (the action is ‘to go’, the actor is ‘the boy’)
As you see in the examples, the subject is not always, but mostly at the beginning of the sentence. If you still have trouble identifying it, you can use this as a quick fix: at the beginning of the sentence use Nominative.
Akkusativ => Object
We use the accusative case to refer to the object. Many verbs (haben, sehen, bringen, geben, etc) require an object. If you say “I have”, you’ll naturally ask “have what?”
Das Kind hat einen Rucksack. -> The child has a backpack. (have what?)
Die Frau bekommt Blumen. -> The woman receives flowers. (receive what?)
Ich sehe meine Freundin jeden Tag. -> I see my friend/girlfriend every day. (see what? – even though it’s a person)
Dativ => Indirect Object
We use the dative case to refer to the indirect object. Some verbs (geben, danken, empfehlen, sagen, gehören, etc) require an object AND an indirect object, or even just the indirect object. If you say “I give”, you’ll not only ask “give what?”, but also “to whom?“)
Der Vater gibt dem Sohn einen Rucksack. -> The father gives the son a backpack. (give what? the backpack / to whom? the son)
Der Sohn dankt dem Vater (für den Rucksack). -> The son thanks the father (for the backpack). (thank whom? the father)
Das Buch gehört der Frau. -> The book belongs to the woman. (belong to whom? the woman)
Genitiv => Property / possessive attribute
If you’re a beginner, don’t dwell much on the genitive, it is something we use less and less, and usually only teach around the end of A2-level.
Alle Frauen des Landes sind eingeladen. -> All women of the land are invited.
Die Haare der Frau sind rot. -> The woman’s hair is red.
Das Auto meines Mannes ist in der Garage. -> My husband’s car is in the garage.
We often avoid the genitive case by using the preposition ‘von‘ followed by dative.
Complements
Complements are parts of the sentence that do not fit into any of these main categories. They are references to time, cause, mode or place, which might be an adverb (heute, anders, hier, draussen) or start with a preposition, which will require a specific case (accusative, dative or genitive, never nominative!).
Der Junge fährt täglich mit dem Bus in die Schule. -> The boy goes daily by bus to school. There is no object, or indirect object in this sentence, only references to when (täglich) how (mit dem Bus) and where (in die Schule).
There is a lot more to say about this, but…
the post is already quite long… I hope you can now understand the different components of the sentence, to know which case to use.
I’ll write separate posts for each case naming exceptions, prepositions and verbs that require a specific structure.
In the meantime, see if you can identify the main components of the sentence (Satzglieder): Subjekt (Nominativ), Akkusativobjekt or Dativobjekt
