Notes On Prepositions Flashcards
Bis
Referring to place bis means as far as/up to
With places and adverbs no article is used
If the following noun has an article, then appropriate preposition
Eg sie ging bis zur Tür
Eg wir sind bis an die Deutsche Grenze gefahren
Bis auf (+akk) means 'down to an including'/'all but'/'except' Eg bis auf drei kamen um (all but three died)
Durch
Referring to place, durch means ‘through’
Eg sie ging durch die Stadt
Durch is also used to express means:
1) can introduce agent/means by through which action carried out
Eg durch harte Arbeit
2) can correspond to ‘by’ with a verbal noun
Die Annahme des Kaisertitels durch den König
3) the prepositional adverb ‘dadurch’ often had sense of ‘thereby’
Für
Corresponds to ‘for’ in a wide range of senses
Eg er hat viel für mich getan
Gegen
Referring to place/opposition, gegen means against.
Eg er warf den Ball gegen die Mauer
Gegen can indicate direction (eg ‘into’)
Eg er fuhr gegen einen Baum
Gegen can express a contrast (‘contrary to’/’compared with’)
Eg ‘gegen alle Erwartungen’
Gegen can have sense of ‘in exchange for’
Eg er gab mir das Geld gegen eine Quittung
Gegen can express approximation (‘about’)
Eg es war gegen 500 Zuschauer im Saal
Ohne
Refers to ‘without’
Um
Referring to place, um means around or about
Eg wir standen um den Teich (Pond)
Um can be used to denote a degree of difference (by)
Um zwei Tage verlängern (extend by two days)
Um can convey the idea of ‘in respect of’/’concerning’
Prepositional adverb ‘darum’ used in meaning ‘therefore’/’thereby’
Aus
Commonly denotes direction out of or from a place
Eg ‘er kam aus dem Haus’
More often corresponds to ‘from’
Er kommt aus Hamburg
Aus refers to places one has been in, as in origin. Von is used for from with reference to places one has been at (idea of direction)
Aus denotes ‘made of’ referring to materials
Die Kaffeekanne war aus Silber
Aus is used to denote a cause/reason or motive
Sie tat es aus Dankbarkeit
Außer
Usually expresses a restriction (expect for/besides)
Eg niemand hat ihn gesehen außer dem Nachtwächter
Also used I meaning ‘out of’ or ‘outside’ mainly in set phrases
Eg außer Betrieb (out of service)
Bei
Usually corresponds to ‘by’ or ‘at’ (less precise than ‘an’, meaning ‘in the vicinity of’)
Used with reference to people, bei usually means ‘at the house of’. It is also used to indicate place of employment
Eg sie wohnt bei ihrer Tante
Bei can mean ‘in view of’/’with’ etc
Eg bei den immer steigenden Preisen (in view of constantly rising prices)
Bei can also mean ‘on the occasion of’ or ‘at’
Eg bei dieser Gelegenheit (on this occasion)
Gegenüber
Referring to people, gegenüber means opposite
Gegenüber can also express a comparison (compared to) similar to ‘gegen’
Gegenüber meiner Schwester bin ich groß
Gegenüber can mean ‘in relation to’/’in respect of’/’towards’
Eg mein Verhalten Astrid gegenüber
Gegenüber always follows a pronoun
Eg sie saß mir gegenüber
Gegenüber can come before or after a noun. Before the noun is more frequent
Gegenüber dem Rathaus…
Mit
Corresponds to ‘with’
Indicates the instrument with which an action was performed
Er hat mit einem Stift geschrieben
German also uses mit for a means of transport
Eg mit dem Zug
Mit is common in phrases involving parts of the body where English does not have a preposition or simply uses a verb
Eg sie hat mich mit dem Fuß gestoßen
Nach
Used to denote direction, in the English sense of ‘to’
This is used for neuter countries and towns used without an article (in is used for countries with article)
Points of compass used without article
Eg wir fuhren nach Norden
Adverbs of place
Eg sie ging nach oben
Nach can be used in the sense of ‘towards’/min the direction of’
Eg ich sah nach der Tür
Nach can also be used in the sense of according to/judging by
Eg nach meiner Uhr (by my watch)
Von
Indicates direction from a place ich fuhr von Frankfurt nach München
Von can be strengthened by adding aus after the noun to emphasise point of origin
Eg Von meinem Fenster aus kann ich die Kirche sehen
Zu
Expresses direction (common equivalent for ‘to’) particularly:
Going to someone’s house
Going to a place or occasion
Zu is also used in set phrases such as ‘zu Hause’ (at home) and ‘zu beiden Seiten’ (on either side)
Zu is usual equivalent of ‘for’ to express purpose
Eg zu diesem Zweck (for this purpose)
This is common with an infinitive used as a noun
Zu can express a mental attitude to something
(This is frequent with adjectives)
Sie war nett zu mir
Zu can also be used to indicate price or measure with numbers
Eg 10 Stück Seife zu je £4
Prepositions governing dative or accusative
The accusative case is used with a phrase expressing the direction in which someone or something is moving or being put.
Eg ‘ich hänge das Bild an die Wald’
Even if direction is involved, dative is used if there is no movement in relation to person/thing denoted by following noun
Eg er ging neben seiner Frau (walking next to wife)
Dative is usual with verbs of arriving/appearing/disappearing
Eg Sie kamen am Bahnhof an
Verbs with the prefix ‘ein’ are often used with ‘in’ and noun phrase in accusative
An
With Dative, means ‘on (the side of) or ‘on (the underside of). An with accusative is used if this is destination.
An + dative can also be used with academic and other institutions where a person is employed
Eg sie lehrt an der Universität
An + accusative can indicate indefinite quantities (here definite article follows)
Eg er verdient an die 5000 pro Monat
Auf
Auf + dative is ‘on top of’ and auf + akk is used if this is destination.
Auf + dative is used for ‘at’/’in’ for formal occasions
E.g ich traf sie auf einem Empfang
Auf+akk is used for language (eg auf Deutsch)
Entlang
Indicates position alongside an extended object (along)
Eg ‘entlang der Bahnlinie’
With akk, indicates movement alongside an extended object or down the middle of road/river
‘An (+ dative) … entlang’ is a common alternative to simple entlang.
Entlang is used a lot less frequently than ‘along’. ‘An’ is more common
Eg ‘an der Küste’
Hinter
Corresponds to ‘behind’ or ‘beyond’
Eg ‘Der Wagen steht hinter der Garage’
Used with Akkusativ, hinter indicates direction
Eg ‘we fuhr den Wagen hinter die Garage’
To indicate movement in relation to another person or thing, ‘her’ is also used
Eg er rannte hinter ihr her (he was running after her)
Neben
Corresponds to ‘next to’ or ‘beside’
To indicate relation of movement to another person or thing moving in the same direction, neben is used with following ‘her’
Eg ‘we ging neben seiner Frau her’
Neben + Dativ can be used in the sense of ‘besides’ or ‘apart from’ (similar to ‘ausser’)
Eg ‘neben zwei Franzosen waren all Anwesenden aus Deutschland’
Neben + Dativ can also be used to express comparison (common alternative to gegen/gegenüber)
Eg neben ihrer Mutter ist sie Groß’
Über
Corresponds to ‘over’/’above’ or across/beyond
Das Bild hängt über meinem Tisch
With movement, über can also refer to ‘via’
Über + Akkusativ can also refer to ‘about’ or ‘concerning’
Eg ‘ein Buch über die europäischen Vogelarten’
Unter
With reference to place, ‘unter’ corresponds to underneath/beneath/below
Unter + Dativ is also used for ‘amongst’
Eg ‘hier bist du unter Freunden’
Unter + Dativ is used to indicate circumstances
Eg ‘unter diesen Umständen’ (under these circumstances)
Vor
Corresponds to ‘in front of’ or ‘ahead of’
Vor + Dative can also indicate cause or reason
(Usually without following article)
Eg man könnte vor Lärm nichts hören
Aus points to voluntary cause/action but vor always expresses a cause which is involuntary
Vor sich hin means to oneself
Eg Sie las vor sich hin (she was reading to herself)
Zwischen
Refers to ‘between’
To indicate relation of movement to another person or thing moving in the same direction, zwischen (+ Dativ) is used with her
Ich ging zwischen meinen Eltern her
(An)statt
Refers to instead of
Eg statt eines Fernseher, habe ich mich eine neuen Stereosnlage gekauft
Can also be used as a conjunction
Eg ich besuchte meinen Onkel statt meinen Bruder.
Trotz
Refers to despite/in spite of
Wegen
Refers to because of/for the sake of
Eg wegen des Regen, konnten wir nicht kommen
German equivalents for ‘to’
In is used for going to places which one will then be inside
Auf is used for going to certain places/events (where one would use ‘auf + dative’ to say you’re at them). Also used for formal occasions (parties/weddings etc) and certain public buildings
An expresses direction to a precise spot or objects which extend lengthways (eg rivers)
Zu is used if one is just going up to the place involved but not inside. Also commonly used instead of auf for parties etc.
Zu is always used for people
