{"id":15861,"date":"2015-04-28T09:04:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T08:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/?p=15861"},"modified":"2015-04-28T09:07:32","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T08:07:32","slug":"german-two-way-prepositions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/15861\/german-two-way-prepositions","title":{"rendered":"German Two-Way Prepositions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Two-Way-Prepositions\"<\/a><\/p>\n

German Two-Way Prepositions<\/span><\/h2>\n

A preposition is a word such as for<\/strong>, without<\/strong> or to<\/strong>. Prepositions show the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other words and are usually placed before the noun or pronoun.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/strong>
\nThis cake is for<\/strong> you.
\nI can’t do it without<\/strong> your help.
\nHe moves to<\/strong> Germany.<\/p>\n

You can now learn even more on this topic with the help of a fun video and a grammar quiz. Simply check out our Information and Directions Module<\/a> in level A2. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Prepositions and the Cases<\/h2>\n

\nGerman prepositions break down into four groups<\/strong>. Some of them use the accusative<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and some use the dative<\/a><\/span><\/strong> or genitive<\/span><\/strong> case. On top of this, there are also some that can be either accusative or dative<\/span><\/strong>, depending on the context of the sentence. <\/p>\n

In this blog we\u2019ll be looking at the ones that can be either accusative or dative. For more information on prepositions that are strictly accusative take a look at our German Accusative Prepositions Blog<\/a> and for more info on the dative ones read our German Dative Prepositions Blog<\/a>. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Two-Way Prepositions<\/span><\/h2>\n

\nLet\u2019s look at the nine<\/strong> little beauties that can be either accusative or dative:<\/p>\n

Two-Way Prepositions in the Accusative Case<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Preposition<\/th>\nMasculine<\/th>\nFeminine<\/th>\nNeuter<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
an (at, on top of)<\/td>\nan den<\/td>\nan die<\/td>\nans<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
auf (on, onto, to)<\/td>\nauf den<\/td>\nauf die<\/td>\naufs<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
hinter (behind)<\/td>\nhintern<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nhinter die<\/td>\nhinters<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
in (in, into, to)<\/td>\nin den<\/td>\nin die<\/td>\nins<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
neben (next to, beside)<\/td>\nneben den<\/td>\nneben die<\/td>\nneben das<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fcber (above, over)<\/td>\n\u00fcbern<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n\u00fcber die<\/td>\n\u00fcbers<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
unter (under, underneath)<\/td>\nuntern<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nunter die<\/td>\nunters<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vor (in front of)<\/td>\nvor den<\/td>\nvon die<\/td>\nvors<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
zwischen (between)<\/td>\nzwischen den<\/td>\nzwischen die<\/td>\nzwischen das<\/td>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\nTwo-Way Prepositions in the Dative Case<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Preposition<\/th>\nMasculine<\/th>\nFeminine<\/th>\nNeuter<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
an (at, on top of)<\/td>\nam<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nan der<\/td>\nam<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
auf (on, onto, to)<\/td>\nauf dem<\/td>\nauf der<\/td>\nauf dem<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
hinter (behind)<\/td>\nhinterm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nhinter der<\/td>\nhinterm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
in (in, into, to)<\/td>\nim<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nin der<\/td>\nim<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
neben (next to, beside)<\/td>\nneben dem<\/td>\nneben der<\/td>\nneben dem<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fcber (above, over)<\/td>\n\u00fcberm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n\u00fcber der<\/td>\n\u00fcberm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
unter (under, underneath)<\/td>\nunterm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nunter der<\/td>\nunterm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vor (in front of)<\/td>\nvorm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\nvor der<\/td>\nvorm<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
zwischen (between)<\/td>\nzwischen dem<\/td>\nzwischen der<\/td>\nzwischen dem<\/td>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\nAfter a few German two-way prepositions, a shortened form of the definite article can be merged with the preposition to make one word.<\/p>\n

an + das = ans<\/span><\/strong>
\nan + dem = am<\/span><\/strong>
\nauf + das = aufs<\/span><\/strong>
\nin + das = ins<\/span><\/strong>
\nin + dem = im<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Some other forms that aren’t as frequently used are hintern<\/span><\/strong>, hinterm<\/span><\/strong>, hinters<\/span><\/strong>, \u00fcbern<\/span><\/strong>, \u00fcberm<\/span><\/strong>, \u00fcbers<\/span><\/strong>, untern<\/span><\/strong>, unterm<\/span><\/strong>, unters<\/span><\/strong>, vorm<\/span><\/strong> and vors<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When to use Accusative or Dative?<\/h2>\n

\nOne of the first issues you will encounter when learning these prepositions is:<\/p>\n

When should I use accusative and when should I use the dative case?<\/p>\n

Which case to use depends on the meaning. Here is a quick overview:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Prepositions in the accusative case describe movement or show a change of location. These prepositions can answer questions that start with: Where to…?<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n

    \n For example:<\/strong>
    \nSie wollen auf die<\/span><\/strong> Party. (They want to go to the party.) \u21e8 Where<\/span><\/strong> do they want to go to<\/span><\/strong>?<\/p>\n

  • Prepositions in the dative case describe positions or refer to a static location. These prepositions can answer questions that start with: Where…?<\/span><\/strong><\/il>\n

    For example:<\/strong>
    \nDeine Tasche liegt auf dem<\/span><\/strong> Tisch. (The bag is on the table.) \u21e8 Where<\/span><\/strong> is the bag?\n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Tip<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
    \n

    If you aren\u2019t quite confident with the prepositions and their shortened forms, stick to the long form, for example hinter dem<\/span> or \u00fcber das<\/span> instead of hinterm<\/span> and \u00fcbers<\/span>. It\u2019s only the most frequently used ones that you should remember as they are quite commonly used.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    German Two-Way Prepositions A preposition is a word such as for, without or to. Prepositions show the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other words and are usually placed before the noun or pronoun. For example: This cake is for you. I can’t do it without your help. He moves to Germany. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[26,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15861"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15861"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15871,"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15861\/revisions\/15871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jabbalab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}