Präpositionen in German

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Prepositions (Präpositionen) are words that link nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words within a sentence. They indicate relationships of time, direction, or location, among others.

The choice of preposition often depends on the verb or noun it follows. This can be difficult, as some prepositions in German do not have a direct English equivalent. Many German prepositions govern a specific case (accusative, dative, genitive, or in some cases, accusative or dative, depending on motion or location). The case of the noun or pronoun following the preposition MUST agree with the preposition.

Some very common German prepositions are: an, auf, aus, bei, durch, für, gegen, hinter, in, mit, nach, neben, ohne, seit, über, um, unter, von, vor, zu.

Most German prepositions can be grouped by case:

Dativ (Dative Case):

an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen (accusative or dative, depending on motion/location)
aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu (accusative or dative, depending on motion/location)

Akkusativ (Accusative Case):

durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

Genitiv (Genitive Case):

während, trotz, wegen, statt

There are also two-way prepositions that can take either the dative or accusative, depending on whether there's movement.

Dative: indicates static location (no movement)
- Ich bin im Kino. (I am in the cinema.)
Accusative: indicates movement (to a place)
- Ich gehe ins Kino. (I am going to the cinema.)

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