Which prepositions can take both accusative and dative & how do I decide which case to use?

There are a handful of prepositions which can trigger either the accusative or the dative. They are the following:an, neben, in, zwischen, hinter, unter, über, vor, auf.It is often taught in schools that if motion is involved, the accusative is used, whereas if there isn't any motion, the dative is used. This is misleading, because it is direction that triggers the accusative, rather than motion. If no direction relative to the speaker is indicated, then the dative is used. "The picture is hanging on the wall"= "Das Bild hängt an der Wand". 'Wand' is a feminine word, but no direction is involved thus the dative is used, hence the 'der'. However, if you were to say "I'm hanging the picture on the wall", you would say "Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand", as the direction is indicated (towards the wall) thus the accusative is used.

Answered by Luke A. German tutor

3201 Views

See similar German GCSE tutors

Related German GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do you say the sentence 'She goes on holiday to France' in the present, future and perfect tenses?


You're writing an entry for a German blog about your school, respectively, your school life. Give a general description of your school. Write which subjects you like and which not. Write what you did in school yesterday/tomorrow.


Separable verbs present tense: Rearrange these sentences so that they are in the correct order. Then translate them into English.


Was sind die Vor- und Nachteile der Technologie für Jugendliche?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences