German Cases Flashcards by christine collins

What are the four cases in German?

nominative
accusative
genitive
dative

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is the nominative case used for?

the subject of the sentence
after verbs like sein, werden

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

The girl sings

Das Mädchen singt

Mädchen is the subject

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

The cat is sleeping

Die Katze schläft

Katze is the subject

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

He is a good teacher

Er ist ein guter Lehrer

Lehrer is being used with sein

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

This will be a sweater

Das wird ein Pullover

Pullover is being used with werden

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is the accusative case used for?

the direct object of the sentence
after certain prepositions
after certain prepositions with movement;
expressions of time and place
set expressions

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

I see the dog

Ich sehe den Hund

Hund is the direct object

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

He sang a song

Er hat ein Lied gesungen

Lied is the direct object

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

It’s for his girlfriend

Es ist für seine Freundin

The preposition für takes the accusative case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

It’s difficult without a car

Es ist schwierig ohne einen Wagen

The preposition ohne takes the accusative case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

I got sick because of smoking

Durch das Rauchen wurde ich krank

The preposition durch takes the accusative case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

Put your bike next to my car

Stell dein Rad neben mein Auto

The preposition neben takes the accusative case with movement

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

They put a board over the hole

Sie legten ein Brett über das Loch

The preposition über takes the accusative case with movement

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

She does this every Thursday

Das macht sie jeden Donnerstag

Many expressions of time and place take the accusative case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

The school is one kilometer away

Die Schule ist einen Kilometer entfernt

Many expressions of time and place take the accusative case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

Good evening

Guten Abend

Some set expressions take the accusative case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

Thank you

Vielen Dank

Some set expressions take the accusative case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is the genitive case used for?

to show who owns something
after certain prepositions
some expressions of time

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

The woman’s car was red

Das Auto der Frau war rot

Frau is in the genitive case to show ownership

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

Because of the bad weather

Wegen des schlechten Wetters

The preposition wegen takes the genitive case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

Despite her illness, she goes for a walk every day

Trotz ihrer Krankheit geht sie jeden Tag spazieren

The preposition trotz takes the genitive case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Translate to German

someday

eines Tages

Some expressions of time use the genitive case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What is the dative case used for?

the indirect object of the sentence
after certain verbs
after certain prepositions
after certain prepositions with position
expressions of time and place
set expressions

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

# Translate to German He gave the book to the man

Er gab dem Mann das Buch | **dem Mann** is the **indirect** object

# Translate to German He helps his mother around the house

Er hilft seiner Mutter im Haushalt | The verb **helfen** takes the **dative**

# Translate to German After dinner we went for a walk

Nach dem Essen gingen wir spazieren | The preposition **nach** takes the **dative** case

# Translate to German I'm sitting next to the window

Ich sitze neben dem Fenster | The preposition **neben** takes the **dative** case

# Translate to German The cat was under the table

Die Katze lag unter dem Tisch | The preposition **unter** takes the **dative** case withe position

# Translate to German I'm cold

Mir ist kalt | Certain expressions take the **dative** case

# Translate to German I washed my hair

Ich habe mir die Haare gewaschen | Instead of a poss adjectives, a dative pronoun is used with body parts

# Translate to German Take off your jacket

Zieh deine Jacke aus | Instead of a possesive adjectives, a dative pronoun is used with clothes

What are the nominative definite articles?

* der (masc) * die (fem) * das (neut)

What are the nominative indefinite articles?

* ein (masc) * eine (fem) * ein (neut)

# Translate to German the car

der Wagen | The **nominative masculine** definite article is **der**

# Translate to German a car

ein Wagen | The **nominative masculine** indefinite article is **ein**

# Translate to German the can

die Dose | The **nominative feminine** definite article is **die**

# Translate to German a can

eine Dose | The **nominative feminine** indefinite article is **eine**

# Translate to German the song

das Lied | The **nominative neuter** definite article is **das**

# Translate to German a song

ein Lied | The **nominative neuter** indefinite article is **ein**

What are the accusative definite articles?

* den (masc) * die (fem) * das (neut)

What are the accusative indefinite articles?

* einen (masc) * eine (fem) * ein (neut)

# Translate to German the car (accusative)

den Wagen | The **accusative masculine** definite article is **den**

# Translate to German a car (accusative)

einen Wagen | The **accusative masculine** indefinite article is **einen**

# Translate to German the can (accusative)

die Dose | The **accusative feminine** definite article is **die**

# Translate to German a can (accusative)

eine Dose | The **accusative feminine** indefinite article is **eine**

# Translate to German the song (accusative)

das Lied | The **accusative neuter** definite article is **das**

# Translate to German a song (accusative)

ein Lied | the accusative neuter indefinite article is ein

What are the genitive definite articles?

* des (masc) * der (fem) * des (neut)

What are the genitive indefinite articles?

* eines (masc) * einer (fem) * eines (neut)

# Translate to German the car (genitive)

des Wagens | The genitive masc definite article is des, plus s/es is added to noun

# Translate to German a car (genitive)

eines Wagens | The genitive masc indef article is eines, plus s/es is added to noun

# Translate to German the can (genitive)

der Dose | The **genitive feminine** definite article is **der**

# Translate to German a can (genitive)

einer Dose | The **genitive feminine** indefinite article is **einer**

# Translate to German the song (genitive)

des Liedes | The gen neut definite article is des, s/es is generally added to noun

# Translate to German a song (genitive)

eines Liedes | The gen neut indef article is eines, s/es is generally added to noun

What are the dative definite articles?

* dem (masc) * der (fem) * dem (neut)

What are the dative indefinite articles?

* einem (masc) * einer (fem) * einem (neut)

# Translate to German the car (dative)

dem Wagen | The **dative masculine** definite article is **dem**

# Translate to German a car (dative)

einem Wagen | The **dative masculine** indefinite article is **einem**

# Translate to German the can (dative)

der Dose | The **dative feminine** definite article is **der**

# Translate to German a can (dative)

einer Dose | The **dative feminine** indefinite article is **einer**

# Translate to German the song (dative)

dem Lied | The **dative neuter** definite article is **dem**

# Translate to German a song (dative)

einem Lied | The **dative neuter** indefinite article is **einem**