German Prepositions

Introduction

Prepositions are words that connect nouns and pronouns to other words in a sentence. A preposition indicates a location in space or time, or a logical relationship of a noun to the rest of the sentence.

Prepositions in German influence the case of the following noun or pronoun. Some prepositions require the accusative case, some require the dative case, some the genitive case, and some either the accusative or dative case depending whether or not motion is implied. A noun in the accusative case is the direct object of a sentence. A noun in the dative case is the indirect object in a sentence.

In English the words the definite article the and the indefinite article a have lost their direct and indirect object forms, but pronouns still have a subject an object form. In German, pronouns, the definite article, the indefinite article, and even adjectives have different forms depending on which case they're in.

Don't worry if this sounds too confusing. As you practice reading and speaking German, it'll eventually come naturally, and even if you make lots of mistakes, you'll still be understood.

Prepositions with the accusative case

durch means through, as in 'durch den Fluss' (through the river).

entlang means along, as in 'entlang den Fluss' (along the river).

für means for, as in 'für das Buch' (for the book).

gegen means against, as in 'gegen die Mauer' (against the wall).

ohne means without, as in 'ohne ihn' (without him).

um means around, about, at (with time expressions), and by (with quantities)

Prepositions with the dative case

aus means out, out of, or from, as in 'aus der Flasche' (out of the bottle).

bei means at, near, or by, as in 'bei uns' (at our house). Used before the name of a place, business, or where someone works or lives. Bei dem is usually shortened to beim.

mit means with, as in 'mit dem Löffel' (with the spoon).

nach means after or to, as in 'nach dem Regen' (after the rain).When used before a city or country it means "to"

seit means since, as in, 'Er ist seit einer Woche hier

von means from or of, as in 'vom Frankfurt' (from Frankfurt).

zu means to, as in 'zum Bahnhof.' (to the train station), or at, as in 'zum Ostern' (at Easter). Usually zu dem is shortened to zum and zu der is shortened to zur.

Prepositions with either the accusative or dative case

These prepositions are followed by the accusative case when movement towards a different place is involved. They are followed by the dative case when position is described instead of movement.

an means on, at, or to. Usually an dem is shortened to am.

auf means on, upon, up.

hinter means behind.

in means in or into. 'Er ging in das Zimmer' (He went into the room). 'Er ist in dem Zimmer' (he is in the room).

neben means next to, beside.

über means over, above, across.

unter means under or among.

vor means in front of or before.

zwischen means between.