Accusative Case In German: A Simple Guide With Lots Of Examples
Welcome to our comprehensive guide on the accusative case in German! This post is all about zooming in on one of the German cases: the accusative.
We can recommend you watching an explanatory video made by Your German Teacher:
This post will help you better understand and use this important part of aspect of German grammar.
Let’s start with the basics!
1. What is the accusative case in German?
Effortless Answers
The accusative case is one of the four cases in the German language, alongside nominative, dative, and genitive.
It’s used to show the direct object in a sentence – the person or thing directly affected by the action of the verb.
Let’s examine it through a German sentence:
“Ich sehe den Hund.” (I see the dog.)
In this sentence, “den Hund” is in the accusative case because it’s the direct object of the verb “sehe” (see).
The accusative case in German is important if you want to set up the correct German sentence structure by expressing who or what is receiving the action of the verb.
2. How to recognize the accusative case in German
The accusative case is often used to answer the question:
- “wen?” (whom?) or
- “was?” (what?).
If you can ask these questions about an object in a sentence, it’s likely in the accusative case.
Let’s go into a short grammar examination:
“Sie kauft ein Buch.” (She buys a book.)
Was kauft sie? Ein Buch. (What is she buying? A book.)
Another way to identify the accusative case is to look for direct objects in sentences. These are typically nouns or pronouns that receive the action of the verb directly.
For this, of course, you have to understand the German sentences. Here are a few examples.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Ich kaufe ein Buch. | I buy a book. |
| Sie trägt den Mantel. | She wears the coat. |
| Wir sehen den Film. | We watch the movie. |
| Er öffnet das Fenster. | He opens the window. |
| Du trinkst den Kaffee. | You drink the coffee. |
| Ich kenne den Mann. | I know the man. |
| Sie malt ein Bild. | She paints a picture. |
| Wir besuchen unsere Großeltern. | We visit our grandparents. |
| Er schreibt einen Brief. | He writes a letter. |
| Du fährst das Auto. | You drive the car. |
3. Common verbs that go together with the accusative case in German
Many German verbs can also be telltale signs when looking for the accusative case. In the next table, we listed some of the most common German verbs that require the accusative case.
| German Verb | English Translation |
|---|---|
| haben | to have |
| sehen | to see |
| kaufen | to buy |
| brauchen | to need |
| lieben | to love |
| lesen | to read |
| trinken | to drink |
| essen | to eat |
| finden | to find |
| hören | to hear |
You can memorize these verbs one by one, or, you could also use the Conversation Based Chunking method. If you choose the second variation (which we advise you to), then you learn whole constructs, the natural building blocks of the language instead of just learning the words brainlessly.
4. Changes in articles and pronouns
The accusative case in German changes not just the German sentence structure but also German articles and German pronouns too.
Let’s break it down one-by-one.
Definite articles in accusative
The definite articles change in the accusative case as follows:
- der → den (masculine)
- die → die (feminine, no change)
- das → das (neuter, no change)
- die → die (plural, no change)
Examples:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Der Mann sieht den Hund. | The man sees the dog. |
| Ich lese die Zeitung. | I read the newspaper. |
| Sie kauft das Buch. | She buys the book. |
| Wir besuchen die Museen. | We visit the museums. |
Indefinite articles in accusative
The indefinite articles change as follows:
- ein → einen (masculine)
- eine → eine (feminine, no change)
- ein → ein (neuter, no change)
Examples:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Er hat einen Bruder. | He has a brother. |
| Sie braucht eine Tasche. | She needs a bag. |
| Das Kind möchte ein Eis. | The child wants an ice cream. |
5. Adjective endings in German accusative
Adjective endings also change in the accusative case in German.
The changes depend on whether the adjective is preceded by a definite article, an indefinite article, or no article at all.
Adjective endings in accusative with definite articles
- Masculine: -en
- Feminine: -e
- Neuter: -e
- Plural: -en
Example: “Ich sehe den großen Hund.” (I see the big dog.)
Adjective endings in accusative with indefinite articles or possessive pronouns
- Masculine: -en
- Feminine: -e
- Neuter: -es
Example: “Er kauft einen roten Apfel.” (He buys a red apple.)
Adjective endings with no article
- Masculine: -en
- Feminine: -e
- Neuter: -es
- Plural: -e
Example: “Wir trinken kaltes Wasser.” (We drink cold water.)
6. Practice the accusative case in German
Time to practice! Fill in the blanks with the correct German articles or adjectives:
Practice the accusative in German with more exercises:
7. Common phrases and expressions in German with the accusative
Many common German phrases use the accusative case.
These expressions are used in everyday German conversations and are generally considered neutral in tone.
Here’s a table with all the examples
| German | English | Usage Context |
|---|---|---|
| “Guten Tag!” | Good day! | Greeting (Literally: (I wish you) a good day) |
| “Keine Ahnung haben” | To have no idea | Expressing lack of knowledge |
| “Einen Moment, bitte” | One moment, please | Asking for a brief pause |
| “Einen schönen Tag noch!” | Have a nice day! | Parting phrase |
| “Es gibt…” | There is/are… | Indicating existence |
| “Die Zeit haben” | To have the time | Discussing availability |
| “Den Bus nehmen” | To take the bus | Talking about transportation |
| “Eine Frage stellen” | To ask a question | In conversations or discussions |
| “Den Kopf schütteln” | To shake one’s head | Describing body language |
| “Das Wort ergreifen” | To take the floor | In formal discussions or meetings |
So, there you have it!
You’ve got everything by your side and now it’s up to you. But just as we mentioned earlier, you can use the Conversation Based Chunking method to help you along the way.
To make it easier, we prepared a German Conversation Based Chunking Guide for you. And it’s free!
