I've recently started studying German at home. The books I currently have do not really explain the whole concept of cases at all, they just say something along the lines of 'The sentence looks different to what you might expect because German has a case system, unlike English. Don't worry too much about it.' Well, to be honest, this seems like a load of rubbish. It seems like case is fundamental to speaking good German and so I think I should worry about it.
Is anybody able to share any general rules for when the different cases are used in German (what they are called even)? Looking on the internet the explanations I found were very heavy and not easy to grasp. About all I can make out is that often the use of one case means you can be more flexible with word order, unlike in English.
Thanks for any help.
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Understanding the case system in German grammar
Anyone here able to explain it clearly?
Which one is Ashton?
By the way I've been here 10 years and the case system as you call it is only designed by Germans to infuriate foreigners when learning their language. Their thinking being make it so hard even after years of being here and studying German they will always hear your mistakes and you will never be perfect.
By the way I've been here 10 years and the case system as you call it is only designed by Germans to infuriate foreigners when learning their language. Their thinking being make it so hard even after years of being here and studying German they will always hear your mistakes and you will never be perfect.
Hehe, that's the trouble when grammar isn't part of the regular school education. Cases exist in the english language as well as in German, they are even called the same. Cases are just not very prominent in modern English, except in its personal pronouns.
The four most common cases in German are nominatve, genetive, dativ and and accusative. Maybe it's a good idea to et a grip on the idea in English first, try the wikipedia entry about grammatical cases: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_case .
The four most common cases in German are nominatve, genetive, dativ and and accusative. Maybe it's a good idea to et a grip on the idea in English first, try the wikipedia entry about grammatical cases: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_case .
QUOTE (Ashton @ Jul 1 2008, 8:51 pm) 
... (what they are called even) ...
nominative (Nominativ), accusative (Akkusativ), dative (Dativ), genitive (Genitiv)
Thanks for that link. It makes much more sense than other stuff I've read.
You want to get the cases right, and in written German it´s very important.
But orally it´s incredibly difficult to always get them right...Don´t let that keep you from trying, though, because germans really do not care about it, as long as they understand you. And after a while you will learn some tricks. So good luck:)
But orally it´s incredibly difficult to always get them right...Don´t let that keep you from trying, though, because germans really do not care about it, as long as they understand you. And after a while you will learn some tricks. So good luck:)
Put very simply, there are four cases you should know about (three if you use von + the dative for the genitive).
They basically refer to what are the subject, object, possessive, and indirect object of the verb in a sentence.
If you say 'The dog barks' (Der Hund bellt) 'the dog' is the subject of the verb, it is the one doing the barking, and so it is in the nominative case. This is the usual 'der, die, das' you get from the gender of the dog (masculine).
If you say 'The girl kisses the dog' (Das Mädchen küsst den Hund), then the dog is the object of the verb. The girl is doing the kissing (so nominative), whereas the dog is at the receiving end of the kissing. The dog is in the accusative case, and in the accusative case der becomes den (die and das stay as they are). Note that 'den Hund küsst Das Mädchen' also means 'the girl kisses the dog'; unlike English, the order of the verbs and objects doesn't determine the case. Also note that this is only clear for masculine nouns! You would use the second word order here if you wanted to emphasise that it was 'the dog' (not the cat or the rabbit) that the girl kissed. The accusative noun might also undergo a change, e.g. Heute treffe ich einen Herrn (today I met a man), where Herr becomes Herrn.
If you say 'The man gives a bone to the dog' (Der Mann gibt einen Knochen zum Hund), then the man is the subject of the verb, the bone is the object of the verb (the man gives it), and the dog is now the indirect object; it is the recipient of the noun (bone) being acted upon by the verb (to give). The dog is now in the dative case and der becomes dem (which when preceded by zu - to - contracts to zum). In the dative, die becomes der, das becomes dem as well, and die plural becomes den. Again, sometimes the noun changes, e.g. Heute verkaufe ich den Hund zum Herrn (today I have sold the dog to the man), where Herr becomes Herrn again.
Hmm, don't worry about the genitive for now; it denotes possession, but in everyday conversation it sounds overly formal and old-fashioned.
'The dog's bone' is, in the genitive, 'die Knochen des Hundes', i.e der becomes des (die becomes der, das also becomes des, die plural becomes der). Note that the noun also changes by adding an s or es for masc and neuter nouns; so Hund becomes Hundes. Anyway, better to say 'der Knochen von dem Hund', i.e. von + dative.
Oh, and all sorts of prepositions (with, at, on, after, against etc) force the subject into the accusative or datve (or either depending on position or movement), but don't worry about that for now!
They basically refer to what are the subject, object, possessive, and indirect object of the verb in a sentence.
If you say 'The dog barks' (Der Hund bellt) 'the dog' is the subject of the verb, it is the one doing the barking, and so it is in the nominative case. This is the usual 'der, die, das' you get from the gender of the dog (masculine).
If you say 'The girl kisses the dog' (Das Mädchen küsst den Hund), then the dog is the object of the verb. The girl is doing the kissing (so nominative), whereas the dog is at the receiving end of the kissing. The dog is in the accusative case, and in the accusative case der becomes den (die and das stay as they are). Note that 'den Hund küsst Das Mädchen' also means 'the girl kisses the dog'; unlike English, the order of the verbs and objects doesn't determine the case. Also note that this is only clear for masculine nouns! You would use the second word order here if you wanted to emphasise that it was 'the dog' (not the cat or the rabbit) that the girl kissed. The accusative noun might also undergo a change, e.g. Heute treffe ich einen Herrn (today I met a man), where Herr becomes Herrn.
If you say 'The man gives a bone to the dog' (Der Mann gibt einen Knochen zum Hund), then the man is the subject of the verb, the bone is the object of the verb (the man gives it), and the dog is now the indirect object; it is the recipient of the noun (bone) being acted upon by the verb (to give). The dog is now in the dative case and der becomes dem (which when preceded by zu - to - contracts to zum). In the dative, die becomes der, das becomes dem as well, and die plural becomes den. Again, sometimes the noun changes, e.g. Heute verkaufe ich den Hund zum Herrn (today I have sold the dog to the man), where Herr becomes Herrn again.
Hmm, don't worry about the genitive for now; it denotes possession, but in everyday conversation it sounds overly formal and old-fashioned.
'The dog's bone' is, in the genitive, 'die Knochen des Hundes', i.e der becomes des (die becomes der, das also becomes des, die plural becomes der). Note that the noun also changes by adding an s or es for masc and neuter nouns; so Hund becomes Hundes. Anyway, better to say 'der Knochen von dem Hund', i.e. von + dative.
Oh, and all sorts of prepositions (with, at, on, after, against etc) force the subject into the accusative or datve (or either depending on position or movement), but don't worry about that for now!
Ashton'sDietician, it might be a consolation that Mark Twain struggled with cases and other linguistic peculiarities, too: The Awful German Language, appendix D from "A Tramp Abroad".
EDIT: You could wait 30 years or so with learning German, because by then the Genitive might have almost disappeared. There is a tendency to replace it with the preposition von/vom. A similar, albeit more drastic simplification took place during the formation of the Romance languages based on Latin.
EDIT: You could wait 30 years or so with learning German, because by then the Genitive might have almost disappeared. There is a tendency to replace it with the preposition von/vom. A similar, albeit more drastic simplification took place during the formation of the Romance languages based on Latin.
Just use 'den' for everything
As long as you can speak Imbissdeutsch you'll be fine.
QUOTE (Krieg @ Jul 2 2008, 10:15 am)
Just use 'den' for everything
You can even build a career on it. This clever lady
a German TV presenter by the name of Verona Pooth, made not using the cases properly her trademark. She sort of mumbles the word endings so that one doesn't know if it's den or dem. Her most famous advertisement slogan is Hier werden Sie geholfen (= Hier wird Ihnen geholfen). Now she has got a bit of a problem because her husband is under the suspicion of fraudulent bancruptcy, but that's another story ...
QUOTE (englishrose @ Jul 1 2008, 9:08 pm)
Which one is Ashton?
By the way I've been here 10 years and the case system as you call it is only designed by Germans to infuriate foreigners when learning their language. Their thinking being make it so hard even after years of being here and studying German they will always hear your mistakes and you will never be perfect.
By the way I've been here 10 years and the case system as you call it is only designed by Germans to infuriate foreigners when learning their language. Their thinking being make it so hard even after years of being here and studying German they will always hear your mistakes and you will never be perfect.
Blame the Romans, not the Germans.
Non illigitamus carborundum
If you look like that you can mangle a language however you want.
If you're serious about learning German, get Hammer's German Grammar and Usage. I got a copy when I started learning German at school and still find it invaluable. There's also a workbook.
QUOTE (RainyDays @ Jul 1 2008, 10:27 pm)
A similar, albeit more drastic simplification took place during the formation of the Romance languages based on Latin.
The ablative was, in a lot of declinations, pretty close to dative anyway - and the same goes for vocative and nominative.
The genitive is not so much replaced by dative, but by a modern germanized bastard version of the ablative.
What about the locative?
As useless as Latin was in my life, learning knowing it did make german easier.
As useless as Latin was in my life, learning knowing it did make german easier.
I recommend you get hold of a copy of Essential German Grammar. 100 pages of grammar heaven.
There's even a section entitled 'Case'.
There's even a section entitled 'Case'.
QUOTE (kato @ Jul 2 2008, 11:05 am)
The ablative was, in a lot of declinations, pretty close to dative anyway - and the same goes for vocative and nominative.
The genitive is not so much replaced by dative, but by a modern germanized bastard version of the ablative.
The genitive is not so much replaced by dative, but by a modern germanized bastard version of the ablative.
The Accusative isn't marked anymore in French, too (except for pronouns). The sample sentence on this thread would be l'homme donne l'os au chien, the Accusative doesn't have any specific marks, the Dative is marked by the preposition au, the word order is fixed. The case ending differences were already reduced to Nominative and Accusative (casus obliquus) in Vulgar Latin, if I remember my studies correctly.
QUOTE (lilplatinum @ Jul 2 2008, 11:09 am)
What about the locative?
Was already out of fashion by middle Roman times, and only used with places in two declinations. Replaced by ablative, just like allative and instrumentalis during the early formation of Latin.
My biggest problem with the German language - if anyone actually gives a fuck - is not necessarily the rules, but knowing which article the noun takes i.e. whether it's masculine, neuter, feminine.
Excellent explanation, btw, but one thing that puzzles me is how to distinguish who is doing what. Using the example above, then using a cat as the subject instead of the dog (Feminine Die Katze) then:
Das Mädchen küsst die Katze
Die Katze küsst das Mädchen
The first and second sentence both could mean the same thing as well as different meanings, but also both sentences do not imply who is kissing who?! Could someone please explain this- how do Germans differentiate between the two?
As for the Genetive Case, I think it's not too difficult to use this in spoken German, as opposed to 'von + Dative'. I mean, you either choose 'der' or 'des'. I always use 'des' then the listener knows I'm for sure using the Genitive (as 'der' is also used in Dative and Nomm.)
QUOTE (Serenissima @ Jul 1 2008, 9:52 pm)
If you say 'The girl kisses the dog' (Das Mädchen küsst den Hund), then the dog is the object of the verb. The girl is doing the kissing (so nominative), whereas the dog is at the receiving end of the kissing. The dog is in the accusative case, and in the accusative case der becomes den (die and das stay as they are). Note that 'den Hund küsst Das Mädchen' also means 'the girl kisses the dog'; unlike English, the order of the verbs and objects doesn't determine the case. Also note that this is only clear for masculine nouns! You would use the second word order here if you wanted to emphasise that it was 'the dog' (not the cat or the rabbit) that the girl kissed. The accusative noun might also undergo a change, e.g. Heute treffe ich einen Herrn (today I met a man), where Herr becomes Herrn.
Hmm, don't worry about the genitive for now; it denotes possession, but in everyday conversation it sounds overly formal and old-fashioned.
'The dog's bone' is, in the genitive, 'die Knochen des Hundes', i.e der becomes des (die becomes der, das also becomes des, die plural becomes der). Note that the noun also changes by adding an s or es for masc and neuter nouns; so Hund becomes Hundes. Anyway, better to say 'der Knochen von dem Hund', i.e. von + dative.
Oh, and all sorts of prepositions (with, at, on, after, against etc) force the subject into the accusative or datve (or either depending on position or movement), but don't worry about that for now!
Hmm, don't worry about the genitive for now; it denotes possession, but in everyday conversation it sounds overly formal and old-fashioned.
'The dog's bone' is, in the genitive, 'die Knochen des Hundes', i.e der becomes des (die becomes der, das also becomes des, die plural becomes der). Note that the noun also changes by adding an s or es for masc and neuter nouns; so Hund becomes Hundes. Anyway, better to say 'der Knochen von dem Hund', i.e. von + dative.
Oh, and all sorts of prepositions (with, at, on, after, against etc) force the subject into the accusative or datve (or either depending on position or movement), but don't worry about that for now!
Excellent explanation, btw, but one thing that puzzles me is how to distinguish who is doing what. Using the example above, then using a cat as the subject instead of the dog (Feminine Die Katze) then:
Das Mädchen küsst die Katze
Die Katze küsst das Mädchen
The first and second sentence both could mean the same thing as well as different meanings, but also both sentences do not imply who is kissing who?! Could someone please explain this- how do Germans differentiate between the two?
As for the Genetive Case, I think it's not too difficult to use this in spoken German, as opposed to 'von + Dative'. I mean, you either choose 'der' or 'des'. I always use 'des' then the listener knows I'm for sure using the Genitive (as 'der' is also used in Dative and Nomm.)
Word order.
While both sentences could actually be interpreted to mean the same in German, word order (subject - verb - object) takes precedence here as "common sense".
While both sentences could actually be interpreted to mean the same in German, word order (subject - verb - object) takes precedence here as "common sense".
This is Germany, don't bring common sense into things.
@ Serenissima
thanks !!! I've been here almost 10 years and thats the first time I've really understood the dem den der das what ever ,I've been doing the Verona thing, I think I got away with it so far
thanks !!! I've been here almost 10 years and thats the first time I've really understood the dem den der das what ever ,I've been doing the Verona thing, I think I got away with it so far
In the tables show in the link, the plural form for the dative and genitive cases is not shown. It is shown for the nominative and accusative cases.
Definite Articles Indefinite Articles Personal Pronouns Adjectives (masc., fem, neuter, plural)
Of course, it is not that hard to find it somewhere..
Thanks anyway, such tables really help.
S
Definite Articles Indefinite Articles Personal Pronouns Adjectives (masc., fem, neuter, plural)
Of course, it is not that hard to find it somewhere..
Thanks anyway, such tables really help.
S
As a teacher I feel obliged to add my two cents. I also would like to take issue with two comments made by a previous post.
First:
"Hmm, don't worry about the genitive for now; it denotes possession, but in everyday conversation it sounds overly formal and old-fashioned." This is not the case (no pun intended). Proper use of the genitive case is essential and one should not simply try to avoid it by using the dative. Moreover, it is really not that difficult once you learn the rules. Essentially, anytime that you would indicate possession in a sentence you can apply the genitive.
Second:
"Oh, and all sorts of prepositions (with, at, on, after, against etc) force the subject into the accusative or datve (or either depending on position or movement), but don't worry about that for now!"
It will make your struggle to learn to speak German much easier if you get this right. The accusative prepositions are durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. Dative: mit, nach, von, aus, zu, seit, bei, gegenüber,. Then there are the prepositions which take accusative when there is motion involved and those which take dative when there is no motion. These can be tricky and will take practice: in, an, auf. Finally there are genitive prepositions such as wegen, während. These lists are by no means exhaustive and are only the words that have popped into my head while writing. My advice: learn these kind of basic fixed rules and then try it out.
Ich wünsche Ihnen viel Glück
First:
"Hmm, don't worry about the genitive for now; it denotes possession, but in everyday conversation it sounds overly formal and old-fashioned." This is not the case (no pun intended). Proper use of the genitive case is essential and one should not simply try to avoid it by using the dative. Moreover, it is really not that difficult once you learn the rules. Essentially, anytime that you would indicate possession in a sentence you can apply the genitive.
Second:
"Oh, and all sorts of prepositions (with, at, on, after, against etc) force the subject into the accusative or datve (or either depending on position or movement), but don't worry about that for now!"
It will make your struggle to learn to speak German much easier if you get this right. The accusative prepositions are durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. Dative: mit, nach, von, aus, zu, seit, bei, gegenüber,. Then there are the prepositions which take accusative when there is motion involved and those which take dative when there is no motion. These can be tricky and will take practice: in, an, auf. Finally there are genitive prepositions such as wegen, während. These lists are by no means exhaustive and are only the words that have popped into my head while writing. My advice: learn these kind of basic fixed rules and then try it out.
Ich wünsche Ihnen viel Glück
To expand on Kielikili's list here's what's still stuck in my mind 50 years after learning it in school:
accusative: bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, wider
dative: aus, außer, bei, mit, seit, von, zu, gegenüber
acc. or dat.: an, auf, hinter in, ... I think there should be something else after this, but I've forgotten it.
accusative: bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, wider
dative: aus, außer, bei, mit, seit, von, zu, gegenüber
acc. or dat.: an, auf, hinter in, ... I think there should be something else after this, but I've forgotten it.
One of the big problems I had when trying to get my head round German grammar was (certainly when I was at school in England) we didn't learn English grammar, and i know a lot of other English speakers (both from UK and US) have said the same. I got this book, English Grammar For Students Of German which helped to put things in context for me.
QUOTE (Crack_Cocaine @ Jul 2 2008, 11:38 am)
Das Mädchen küsst die Katze
Die Katze küsst das Mädchen
The first and second sentence both could mean the same thing as well as different meanings, but also both sentences do not imply who is kissing who?! Could someone please explain this- how do Germans differentiate between the two?
Die Katze küsst das Mädchen
The first and second sentence both could mean the same thing as well as different meanings, but also both sentences do not imply who is kissing who?! Could someone please explain this- how do Germans differentiate between the two?
I don't think I understand what you mean/are asking?! re who's kissing who, the first says the girl kisses the cat and the second the cat kisses the girl, you know who is kissing who from the order it's in, same as in English.
Die Katze küsst - the cat kisses
Das Mädchen küsst - the girl kisses
Die Kuh küsst das Schwein - the dog kisses the pig (no idea where that came from but my great aunt had a pig and a cow that used to kiss regularly so I guess that's it)
As for the case system alot of native German speakers also get it wrong, and as for the dative replacing the genetive just read "der dativ ist dem genetiv sein tod" very funny book.
QUOTE (Crack_Cocaine @ Jul 2 2008, 11:38 am)
My biggest problem with the German language - if anyone actually gives a fuck - is not necessarily the rules, but knowing which article the noun takes i.e. whether it's masculine, neuter, feminine.
Excellent explanation, btw, but one thing that puzzles me is how to distinguish who is doing what. Using the example above, then using a cat as the subject instead of the dog (Feminine Die Katze) then:
Excellent explanation, btw, but one thing that puzzles me is how to distinguish who is doing what. Using the example above, then using a cat as the subject instead of the dog (Feminine Die Katze) then:
it would be in english
the girl kissed the cat OR
it was the CAT the girl kissed
easy
QUOTE (Rilana @ Jul 2 2008, 12:42 pm)
I don't think I understand what you mean/are asking?! re who's kissing who, the first says the girl kisses the cat and the second the cat kisses the girl, you know who is kissing who from the order it's in, same as in English.
Die Katze küsst - the cat kisses
Das Mädchen küsst - the girl kisses
Die Kuh küsst das Schwein - the dog kisses the pig (no idea where that came from but my great aunt had a pig and a cow that used to kiss regularly so I guess that's it)
As for the case system alot of native German speakers also get it wrong, and as for the dative replacing the genetive just read "der dativ ist dem genetiv sein tod" very funny book.
Die Katze küsst - the cat kisses
Das Mädchen küsst - the girl kisses
Die Kuh küsst das Schwein - the dog kisses the pig (no idea where that came from but my great aunt had a pig and a cow that used to kiss regularly so I guess that's it)
As for the case system alot of native German speakers also get it wrong, and as for the dative replacing the genetive just read "der dativ ist dem genetiv sein tod" very funny book.
I find this quite funny becasue I'm finding myself disagreeing with a native German speaker, even though I know generally my German is crap (sorry if I come across as been arrogant then), but...
Den Hund küsst das Mädchen
By your logic, this would mean the dog kisses... but this is not the case from this sentence.
QUOTE (CincyInDE @ Jul 2 2008, 1:03 pm)
Isn´t "ite domum" is a good example of the "accusativus directionis" case ? ...
@CC
the dog (was ) kissed (by ) the girl !
or ... who did the girl kiss?
the dog kissed the girl .../ get it its also messed up in Ingleesch but
the dog (was ) kissed (by ) the girl !
or ... who did the girl kiss?
the dog kissed the girl .../ get it its also messed up in Ingleesch but
QUOTE (Crack_Cocaine @ Jul 2 2008, 2:05 pm)
I find this quite funny becasue I'm finding myself disagreeing with a native German speaker, even though I know generally my German is crap (sorry if I come across as been arrogant then), but...
Den Hund küsst das Mädchen
By your logic, this would mean the dog kisses... but this is not the case from this sentence.
Den Hund küsst das Mädchen
By your logic, this would mean the dog kisses... but this is not the case from this sentence.
It would be der Hund and yes, the sentence you wrote up there would mean that the dog kisses the girl.
I think I get what you are trying to say now, you do mean den and yes that would mean she is kissing the dog, but its a bit of a strange sentence, nobody would say that imo, it would be das maedchen kuesst den hund. You just got the sentence structure muddled.
In the case of:
Die Katze küsst das Mädchen
This can mean that the girl kisses the cat but it would be indicated (in speaking) through intonation. In writing you would not use this form over 'Das Mädchen küsst die Katze' as subject verb object is the normal word order. (In speaking it would also be unlikely to use it, but it would be easy to distinguish.) If someone did use it (both are correct after all), they would simply have to clarify it or it may already be clarifies through context.
Die Katze küsst das Mädchen
This can mean that the girl kisses the cat but it would be indicated (in speaking) through intonation. In writing you would not use this form over 'Das Mädchen küsst die Katze' as subject verb object is the normal word order. (In speaking it would also be unlikely to use it, but it would be easy to distinguish.) If someone did use it (both are correct after all), they would simply have to clarify it or it may already be clarifies through context.
QUOTE (Rilana @ Jul 2 2008, 4:51 pm)
I think I get what you are trying to say now, you do mean den and yes that would mean she is kissing the dog, but its a bit of a strange sentence, nobody would say that imo, it would be das maedchen kuesst den hund. You just got the sentence structure muddled.
Thanks, so the penny finally dropped
Similar to the following also (which I just found):
Beißt der Hund den Mann? Is the dog biting the man?
Beißt den Mann der Hund? Is the dog biting the man?
Here is one of my favorite "case study" no pun ;-) from the German Grammar Pod. This website really helped me get a clue about cases.
Highly recommended and you can download it to your iPod or computer!
http://uk.geocities.com/germangrammarpod/
http://uk.geocities.com/germangrammarpod/nompod.html
Peter hat einen Hai gegessen.
Peter hat ein Hai gegessen.
Ein Hai hat Peter gegessen
Einen Hai hat Peter gegessen.
Who ate who?
In English the word order determines who is doing the action but in German, determiners, that’s words like a, the, this, some and my - the ending on any adjectives, the form of any pronoun - that’s words like I, you, me, we or us and in some cases in the form that the noun takes. In our example, the only determiner, adjective or pronoun is the determiner a "ein/einen" before shark.
Here is another website I found a great help for understanding tricky words a.k.a. "particles" such as doch as in: ich bin doch nicht blöd!
http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa010806a.htm
Good Luck!
Highly recommended and you can download it to your iPod or computer!
http://uk.geocities.com/germangrammarpod/
http://uk.geocities.com/germangrammarpod/nompod.html
Peter hat einen Hai gegessen.
Peter hat ein Hai gegessen.
Ein Hai hat Peter gegessen
Einen Hai hat Peter gegessen.
Who ate who?
In English the word order determines who is doing the action but in German, determiners, that’s words like a, the, this, some and my - the ending on any adjectives, the form of any pronoun - that’s words like I, you, me, we or us and in some cases in the form that the noun takes. In our example, the only determiner, adjective or pronoun is the determiner a "ein/einen" before shark.
Here is another website I found a great help for understanding tricky words a.k.a. "particles" such as doch as in: ich bin doch nicht blöd!
http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa010806a.htm
Good Luck!
To all the Genitiv-Haters (I know, "Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod"...), here it comes: my fathers question to me and my brother when we were 6 years old:
Meiner Oma sein Halsband der Hund.
Ojeoje. Mhmm? Prove your Genitiv-Skills!
(I know, "Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod"...), here it comes: my fathers question to me and my brother when we were 6 years old:Meiner Oma sein Halsband der Hund.
Ojeoje. Mhmm? Prove your Genitiv-Skills!
http://genevieve-cory.150m.com/music/wechsel.html
Dativ Präpositionen
Tune: die schöne, blaue Donau (a.k.a. the Blue Danube Waltz)
aus, ausser, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu
Gegenüber also but it doesn't fit the rhythm.
Akkusativ Präpositionen
Tunes: It's a small world after all, Twinkle twinkle little star, London Bridge is falling down
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um
Wechselpräpositionen
Tune: La Cucaracha
an, auf, und hinter
und über, unter
neben, zwischen, vor und in
auf Frage "wo", da kommt das Dativ
Akkusativ auf "wohin"! cha, cha, cha
more at the link above. You'll have noticed the lists of prepositions are always memorized in alphabetical order.
Dativ Präpositionen
Tune: die schöne, blaue Donau (a.k.a. the Blue Danube Waltz)
aus, ausser, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu
Gegenüber also but it doesn't fit the rhythm.
Akkusativ Präpositionen
Tunes: It's a small world after all, Twinkle twinkle little star, London Bridge is falling down
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um
Wechselpräpositionen
Tune: La Cucaracha
an, auf, und hinter
und über, unter
neben, zwischen, vor und in
auf Frage "wo", da kommt das Dativ
Akkusativ auf "wohin"! cha, cha, cha
more at the link above. You'll have noticed the lists of prepositions are always memorized in alphabetical order.
Oh man, been here seven years.
Fuck the cases. You are a foreigner. Unlike the Dodorgne say where you can master the French and be mistaken for a Frenchman, they'll always know you are foreign. So don't worry.
Honestly after a while you gain an instinct foir "mit dem" or "mit der". Takes years but not many can teach it.
They always rold me German is best learnt in bed. They were right.
Fuck the cases. You are a foreigner. Unlike the Dodorgne say where you can master the French and be mistaken for a Frenchman, they'll always know you are foreign. So don't worry.
Honestly after a while you gain an instinct foir "mit dem" or "mit der". Takes years but not many can teach it.
They always rold me German is best learnt in bed. They were right.
Also for Dativ (Frere Jacques) - aus bei mit nach, aus bei mit nach, seit von zu, seit von zu. Again, no gegenüber .
I agree totally with both parts of the last point - don't worry too much about getting the case wrong as the noun matters more, and you do somehow get to a point where most of it starts coming out right.
.I agree totally with both parts of the last point - don't worry too much about getting the case wrong as the noun matters more, and you do somehow get to a point where most of it starts coming out right.
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