Printable, one file, no cost. Enter your email and we’ll send it over.
We’ll also send you German learning tips. Unsubscribe any time — there’s a link in every email.
Learn this properly in the German B1 course
Handle opinions, arguments and everyday problems the way Germans actually phrase them.
See the B1 courseGerman has four cases: nominative (the subject), accusative (the direct object), dative (the indirect object) and genitive (possession). The case changes the article in front of a noun, which is why der Mann (the man) turns into den Mann, dem Mann or des Mannes depending on its job in the sentence.
This guide gives you German cases explained in plain English: the full case table for articles and pronouns, a quick test for picking the right case, which prepositions force which case, and one sentence that uses all four.
German has four grammatical cases: Nominative (Nominativ), Accusative (Akkusativ), Dative (Dativ), and Genitive (Genitiv). Each case tells you what role a noun plays in a sentence.
Think of cases as name tags for nouns. Depending on whether a noun is the subject, the direct object, the indirect object, or showing possession, it gets a different "tag" — and that tag changes the article in front of it.
Here is a single sentence that uses three of them:
Der Mann gibt dem Kind den Ball. (The man gives the child the ball.)
One rule learners often miss: the nominative is also used after sein (to be), werden (to become) and bleiben (to stay). Das ist der Bahnhof. (That is the station.) — not den Bahnhof.
This is the table you will come back to again and again. It shows how the definite article (der/die/das) changes in each case.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | den (+n) |
| Genitive | des (+s/es) | der | des (+s/es) | der |
And here is the same table for the indefinite article (ein/eine):
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem |
| Genitive | eines (+s/es) | einer | eines (+s/es) |
Ein has no plural, but kein (no) and the possessives (mein, dein, sein...) follow exactly this pattern and add plural forms: keine (nom.), keine (acc.), keinen (+n) (dat.), keiner (gen.).
Notice that only the masculine changes between nominative and accusative. Feminine, neuter and plural stay the same, so the accusative really comes down to der → den and ein → einen.
Pronouns change too, and you use them constantly:
| Case | I | you | he | she | it | we | you (pl.) | they / you (formal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ich | du | er | sie | es | wir | ihr | sie / Sie |
| Accusative | mich | dich | ihn | sie | es | uns | euch | sie / Sie |
| Dative | mir | dir | ihm | ihr | ihm | uns | euch | ihnen / Ihnen |
Both cases mark objects, but they do different jobs.
Accusative = direct object. This is the thing directly affected by the verb.
Ich kaufe den Kuchen. (I buy the cake.)
Ask: Was kaufe ich? (What am I buying?) The cake. Direct object, so accusative.
Dative = indirect object. This is usually the person who receives something or benefits from the action.
Ich gebe dem Lehrer den Kuchen. (I give the teacher the cake.)
Ask: Wem gebe ich den Kuchen? (To whom am I giving the cake?) The teacher. Indirect object, so dative.
A quick test: if you could say it in English with "to" (give the cake to the teacher), that noun is usually dative. Careful with "for", though: für takes the accusative, so für den Lehrer (for the teacher) is accusative.
Verbs of giving, showing and telling often take both objects: geben (give), schenken (give as a gift), zeigen (show), erklären (explain). The person goes in the dative, the thing in the accusative. Pronouns make the difference easy to hear:
Ich gebe ihm den Ball. (I give him the ball.) — dative Ich gebe ihn dem Kind. (I give it to the child.) — accusative, because der Ball is masculine
For full drills on each case, see our guides to the accusative case and the dative case.
Certain prepositions always require a specific case:
Always accusative: bis (until), durch (through), für (for), gegen (against), ohne (without), um (around)
Das Geschenk ist für den Bruder. (The gift is for the brother.)
Always dative: aus (from/out of), außer (except), bei (at/near), gegenüber (opposite), mit (with), nach (after/to), seit (since), von (from/by), zu (to)
Ich fahre mit dem Bus. (I travel by bus.)
Two-way prepositions (accusative for movement, dative for location): an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen
Ich gehe in die Schule. (I go into the school.) — Wohin? (Where to?) → accusative Ich bin in der Schule. (I am in the school.) — Wo? (Where?) → dative
Genitive: wegen (because of), trotz (despite), während (during), statt (instead of). wegen des Wetters (because of the weather). In casual speech you will often hear the dative after these instead (wegen dem Wetter); in writing, use the genitive.
Many prepositions merge with the article, so you will see the case hidden inside: zum (zu dem), zur (zu der), im (in dem), ins (in das), am (an dem), beim (bei dem), vom (von dem).
More on this in our guides to two-way prepositions and German prepositions.
German inherited its case system from Proto-Germanic and, further back, from Proto-Indo-European. English dropped most of its cases over the centuries (traces remain in "he" vs. "him" vs. "his"), while German kept all four.
The benefit is flexible word order. Because the articles signal who is doing what, you can move words around for emphasis without losing meaning:
Den Ball gibt der Mann dem Kind. (It is the ball that the man gives the child.)
The meaning stays the same because den marks the ball as the direct object, wherever it appears in the sentence.
Memorizing the table is a start. Real mastery comes from using it.
1. Use the question-word trick.
2. Learn verbs with their cases. Some verbs always take the dative, even where English logic says accusative: helfen (to help), danken (to thank), gehören (to belong to), gefallen (to please).
Ich helfe dem Freund. (I help the friend.) — not den Freund!
Our list of German dative verbs has the rest.
3. Know the gender first. You cannot choose between den and dem without knowing it is der Ball. Play Article Blitz to drill der/die/das under time pressure, so gender stops slowing you down.
4. Practice with sentences, not just tables. Full sentences force you to process cases in context. Our grammar quizzes include a free Nominativ & Akkusativ quiz, plus quizzes on the dative and on case prepositions.
5. Focus on one case at a time. Master the nominative and accusative first — they cover most everyday situations. Then add the dative. Save the genitive for last, since spoken German uses it less.
The genitive is the case most learners meet last. In everyday speech it is often replaced by von + dative, but it is still standard in writing and formal speech.
Das Auto des Vaters. (The car of the father / The father's car.) Die Tasche der Frau. (The bag of the woman / The woman's bag.)
Spoken alternative: das Auto vom Vater (von + dem Vater).
Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es in the genitive: des Vaters, des Kindes. Our German genitive guide covers the details.
Here is one sentence that uses all four cases:
Der Lehrer (NOM) gibt dem Schüler (DAT) den Stift (AKK) des Direktors (GEN). The teacher gives the student the principal's pen.
Once you can name the case of each noun in a sentence like this, you have crossed a major milestone in your German.
Having German cases explained is step one. Step two is practice — cases are a topic where active repetition beats passive reading every time.
For practice on the go, download the Deutschwunder app and drill cases, articles, and grammar anywhere.
Viel Erfolg! (Good luck!)
More on Deutschwunder: Complete guide to learning German online · Best German learning apps reviewed · How to speak German fluently