Prepositions with Fixed Cases
Prepositions with Fixed Cases
English prepositions never affect the case of the following pronoun (beyond 'for me' not 'for I'). German prepositions come in fixed groups, each always demanding the same case from its object.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Accusative prepositions: always trigger accusative
für dich, ohne mich, durch den Park (for you, without me, through the park)
for you, without me, through the park
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um always trigger accusative case on their object, no matter what. A handy memory device is the acronym 'FUDGO' (für, um, durch, gegen, ohne). English prepositions don't change the following noun's form at all, though pronoun case is a small parallel ('for me', not 'for I') — the difference is that in German this rule applies to every noun and pronoun, every time, with these five words.
Dative prepositions: always trigger dative
mit dir, von mir, nach der Schule, seit einem Jahr (with you, from me, after school, for a year)
with you, from me, after school, since/for a year
aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu always trigger dative case. Some English speakers try to reason from meaning (assuming physical 'through'-type motion is accusative, static 'at'-type location is dative) but German groups these prepositions by memorized list, not by meaning — seit meaning 'since/for (a duration)' catches English speakers off guard, since English pairs duration with 'for', which sounds accusative-adjacent but is dative in German.
Common contractions of preposition + article
zum (zu + dem), zur (zu + der), beim (bei + dem), vom (von + dem)
to the, to the, at the, from the
When a dative preposition combines with the dative article dem or der, everyday speech usually contracts them into a single word: zum, zur, beim, vom, im (in + dem), am (an + dem). English has nothing similar — 'to the' is always two separate words. These contractions are so common that the uncontracted form (zu dem) can sound oddly formal or emphatic.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| durch | doorkh | through |
| für | fuer | for |
| gegen | GAY-gen | against |
| ohne | OH-neh | without |
| um | oom | around / at (time) |
| aus | ows | from / out of |
| bei | by | at / near (someone's place) |
| mit | mit | with |
| nach | nahkh | after / to (a place) |
| seit | zyt | since / for (time) |
| von | fon | from / of |
| zu | tsoo | to |
| zum / zur | tsoom / tsoor | to the (contractions of zu dem / zu der) |
| beim | bym | at the (contraction of bei dem) |