How to use German Prepositions
A preposition is a word such as
in,
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:
He lives
in Hamburg.
They went on holiday
without their children.
I showed my ticket
to the inspector.
Understanding the Meaning of Prepositions
German prepositions and their English counterpart aren't always the same. The German preposition
in for example is the same as the English preposition
in but can be also used as
into or
to.
For example:
Markus ist
in der Stadt. ⇨ Markus is
in town.
Ich ging
in die Post. ⇨ I went
into the post office.
Er möchte nicht
in die Kirche. ⇨ He doesn't want to go
to church.
Therefore it‘s important to get the idea out of your mind straight away that there is always a parallel meaning between German prepositions that resemble English prepositions because prepositions usually have more than one meaning.
| Tip |
Try to remember prepositions in commonly used phrases and get a feeling for the various meanings a preposition may have. |
Types of Prepositions
There are a few different types of prepositions which are categorised as follows:
- Local Prepositions: These prepositions give you more information where something is located.
German prepositions in this group are: ab (from), an (at), auf (on), aus (from), bei (at), bis (until), durch (through), gegen (against), hinter (behind), in (in), nach (to), über (over), unter (under), von (from), vor (in front of), zu (to), zwischen (between)
- Temporal Prepositions: These prepositions give you more information about the time.
German prepositions in this group are: ab (from), an (on), bis (until), gegen (around), in (in), nach (past), seit (since), um (at), von ... bis (from ... to), vor (to), zu (at), zwischen (between)
- Modal Prepositions: These prepositions give you more information about the way people do things.
German prepositions in this group are: als (as), aus (made of), außer (except), entsprechend (according to), mit (with), nach (according to), ohne (without)
- Causal Prepositions: These prepositions give you more information about the reasons for an action.
German prepositions in this group are: anhand (with the help of), aufgrund (based on), aus (out of), dank (thanks to) durch (through), für (for), infolge (due to), vor (because of), zuliebe (for the sake of)
Prepositions and the Cases
German prepositions break down into
four groups:
Some of them use the
accusative and some use the
dative or
genitive case. On top of this, there are also some that can be either
accusative or dative, depending on the context of the sentence. When using a preposition, the article of the noun may change depending on the gender and case. This module will help you figure out which article to use.
Accusative Prepositions
There are
six prepositions which are strictly linked to the accusative case. Let’s have a look at a table that shows you the prepositions in connection with the definite article der, die and das:
| Preposition |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neutral |
| bis (until, till) |
bis den |
bis die |
bis das |
| durch (through, by) |
durch den |
durch die |
durchs |
| für (for) |
für den |
für die |
fürs |
| gegen (against, for) |
gegen den |
gegen die |
gegen das |
| ohne (without) |
ohne den |
ohne die |
ohne das |
| um (around, for, at) |
um den |
um die |
ums |
As these prepositions are followed by the accusative case the masculine article
der will change to
den. After a few German accusative prepositions, a shortened form of the definite article can be merged with the preposition to make one word:
durch + das =
durchs
für + das =
fürs
um + das =
ums
Example sentences:
Bis nächsten Sonntag! ⇨ Until next Sunday!
Wir laufen
durch den Park. ⇨ We are walking through the park.
Vielen Dank
für die Auskunft. ⇨ Thank you very much for the advice.
Ich stellte das Fahrrad
gegen die Wand. ⇨ I put the bike against the wall.
Der Bahnhof ist gleich
um die Ecke. ⇨ The train station is around the corner.
As you can see, some articles, pronouns and adjectives change their form in the accusative case. You can fresh your memory up by reading our grammar section of our
Clothes Module.
Dative Prepositions
There is also a group of prepositions that are strictly dative. There are
nine of these in total. And here they are:
| Preposition |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neutral |
| aus (from, out of) |
aus dem |
aus der |
aus dem |
| außer (besides, except for) |
außer dem |
außer der |
außer dem |
| bei (at, near, with) |
beim |
bei der |
beim |
| gegenüber (opposite, across from) |
gegenüber dem |
gegenüber der |
gegenüber dem |
| mit (with, by) |
mit dem |
mit der |
mit dem |
| nach (after, past, to) |
nach dem |
nach der |
nach dem |
| seit (for, since) |
seit dem |
seit der |
seit dem |
| von (by, from, of) |
vom |
von der |
vom |
| zu (to) |
zum |
zur |
zum |
As these prepositions are followed by the dative case the masculine article
der and the neutral article
das will change to
dem while the feminine article
die changes to
der.
Once again, a few of these can be merged with the article to make one word. These shortened forms are:
bei + dem =
beim
von + dem =
vom
zu + dem =
zum
zu + der =
zur
Example sentences:
Ich habe alles gesehen
außer dem Johann-Strauß-Denkmal. ⇨ I've seen everything except the Johann Strauss Monument.
Die Polizei ist
gegenüber dem Rathaus. ⇨ The police is opposite of the town hall.
Ben will nicht
nach dem Weg fragen. ⇨ Ben doesn't want to ask for directions.
Die Touristeninformation ist in der Nähe
vom Markt. ⇨ The tourist information centre is near the market.
Ben und Marie gehen
zum Park. ⇨ Ben and Marie go to the park.
Genitive Prepositions
There are
four prepositions that are followed by the genitive case. These are:
außerhalb (outside)
infolge (as a result)
innerhalb (inside, within)
um…willen (for...sake)
We will have a look at them in more detail in our Every Day Life module.
Two-Way Prepositions
And last but not least we’ll have a look at the two-way prepositions that can be either accusative or dative. Let’s look at these
nine little beauties:
Two-Way Prepositions in the Accusative Case
| Preposition |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neutral |
| an (at, on top of) |
an den |
an die |
ans |
| auf (on, onto, to) |
auf den |
auf die |
aufs |
| hinter (behind) |
hintern |
hinter die |
hinters |
| in (in, into, to) |
in den |
in die |
ins |
| neben (next to, beside) |
neben den |
neben die |
neben das |
| über (above, over) |
übern |
über die |
übers |
| unter (under, underneath) |
untern |
unter die |
unters |
| vor (in front of) |
vor den |
von die |
vors |
| zwischen (between) |
zwischen den |
zwischen die |
zwischen das |
Two-Way Prepositions in the Dative Case
| Preposition |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neutral |
| an (at, on top of) |
am |
an der |
am |
| auf (on, onto, to) |
auf dem |
auf der |
auf dem |
| hinter (behind) |
hinterm |
hinter der |
hinterm |
| in (in, into, to) |
im |
in der |
im |
| neben (next to, beside) |
neben dem |
neben der |
neben dem |
| über (above, over) |
überm |
über der |
überm |
| unter (under, underneath) |
unterm |
unter der |
unterm |
| vor (in front of) |
vorm |
vor der |
vorm |
| zwischen (between) |
zwischen dem |
zwischen der |
zwischen dem |
After a few German two-way prepositions, a shortened form of the definite article can be merged with the preposition to make one word.
an + das =
ans
an + dem =
am
auf + das =
aufs
in + das =
ins
in + dem =
im
Some other forms that aren't as frequently used are
hintern,
hinterm,
hinters,
übern,
überm,
übers,
untern,
unterm,
unters,
vorm and
vors.
When to use Accusative or Dative?
One of the first issues you will encounter when learning these prepositions is:
When should I use accusative and when should I use the dative case?
Which case to use depends on the meaning. Here is a quick overview:
- Prepositions in the accusative case describe movement or show a change of location. These prepositions can answer questions that start with: Where to...?
For example:
Sie wollen auf die Party. (They want to go to the party.) ⇨ Where do they want to go to?
- Prepositions in the dative case describe positions or refer to a static location. These prepositions can answer questions that start with: Where...?
For example:
Deine Tasche liegt auf dem Tisch. (The bag is on the table.) ⇨ Where is the bag?
| Tip |
If you aren’t quite confident with the prepositions and their shortened forms, stick to the long form, for example hinter dem or über das instead of hinterm and übers. It’s only the most frequently used ones that you should remember as they are quite commonly used and sometimes it’s not possible to use them in their long form, especially if you want to express time - for example, am Montag (on Monday). |
Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of place are words like
there,
everywhere or
left which indicates where something takes place. It's the type of adverb used to answer questions starting with
wo (where),
wohin (where to) and
woher (where from).
Here are a few frequently used German adverbs of place and their English counterpart:
| außen (outside) |
geradeaus (straight away) |
oben (up) |
| da (there) |
heim (home) |
rechts (right) |
| da drüben (over there) |
herein (in) |
überall (everywhere) |
| dort (there) |
hier (here) |
unten (down) |
| dort drüben (over there) |
hin (to) |
vorne (in front) |
| drüben (over there) |
hinten (behind) |
weg (away, gone) |
| draußen (outdoors, outside) |
innen (inside) |
zurück (back) |
| drinnen (indoors, inside) |
links (left) |
zu Hause (at home) |
Example sentence:
Der Markt ist
dort drüben. ⇨ The market is over there.
Biegen Sie
hier links ab. ⇨ Turn left here.
Er ist
zu Hause. ⇨ He's at home.
Draußen spielen meine Kinder. ⇨ My children are playing outdoors.
Bitte kommen Sie
herein. ⇨ Please come in.
Meine Tasche ist
weg. ⇨ My bag's gone.
Word Order with Adverbs
In English, adverbs can appear in different places within a sentence.
For example:
Here is my car.
My car is
here.
It's the same in German.
- Adverbs of place can be placed at the beginning of the sentence.
For example:
Da drüben ist der Bahnhof. ⇨ The train station is over there.
Hier habe ich geheiratet. ⇨ I got married here.
- But this is not fixed.
For example:
Der Markt ist da.
Ich habe hier geheiratet.
| Note |
If you start a sentence with an adverb of place the subject (ich, du, er...) and the verb will swap places. This rule applies to all adverbs.
|
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