Merging of prepositions and articles in the German language. Independent language learning: German prepositions
Anyone who is just starting to learn German is faced with the problem of articles. It is difficult for Russian speakers to understand this topic, because in our speech we do not use anything similar to articles in German. In this article, we clearly and simply answer the most common questions among beginners on this topic.
There are several types of articles in German: definite, indefinite and zero. Let's consider each of them in order.
Definite article
There are only four of them:
Der - for masculine nouns (der);
Die - for the feminine gender (di);
Das - for the neuter gender (das);
Die - plural (di).
They are used in the following cases:
- When we know what we are talking about. If this subject has already been discussed before. For example: der Hund (a certain dog already mentioned).
- To denote phenomena that are one of a kind, for which there are no analogues in nature (die Erde - Earth).
- To designate many geographical objects: rivers, cities, mountains, seas, oceans, streets and so on (die Alpen - Alps).
- If our noun is preceded by (der dritte Mann - the third person), or an adjective (der schnellste Mann - the fastest person).
Indefinite article
Ein - masculine and neuter gender (ain);
Eine - feminine gender (aine).
There is no article for the plural in this case.
In German it is used in the following cases:
- When we talk about objects unfamiliar to us (ein Hund is some kind of dog that we hear about for the first time).
- After the phrase “es gibt” (literally “there is”), for simplicity, we can draw an analogy with the English “there is” (Es gibt einen Weg - there is a road here).
- For designations of species or class (Der Löwe ist ein Raubtier - lion - a predatory animal).
- With the verbs Haben (to have) and Brauchen (to need). For example: “Ich habe eine Arbeit” - I have a job.
Zero article
Not all articles actually exist in the German language. There is such a thing as essentially no article at all. So, we don't write anything before a noun if:
- It denotes a profession or type of activity (Sie ist Ärztin - she is a doctor).
- Before many proper names (London ist die Hauptstadt von Großbritannien - London is the capital of Great Britain).
- To denote the plural (Hier wohnen Menschen - people live here).
- When designating any chemical substance or material (aus Gold - made of gold).
Almost always in Russian and the corresponding articles in German differ from each other. For example, if our “girl” is feminine, then in German it is neuter – “das Mädchen”. That is, like a “girl”. There is a set of endings that can be used to make it easier to determine the gender of a noun, but for the most part there is only one way out - remember.
Another difficulty is the declension of articles in German. Just as in Russian we don’t say: “I see a girl,” so in German. Each article is declined according to its case. The task is made easier by the fact that there are only four cases: Nominativ (nominative), Genetiv (genitive), Dativ (dative) and Akkusativ (like the accusative). You just need to remember the declination. For your convenience, we provide the table below.
As for indefinite articles, they are declined according to the same principle. For example, the masculine article ein in Akk will be einen, simply adding -en to it. This happens with all other articles.
Prepositions- one of the most important aspects of German grammar. It is the knowledge of prepositions that makes speech more literate. The next few lessons will be devoted to them. In this lesson we will talk about prepositions that require the accusative and dative cases after them.
It should be noted that in the German language there are prepositions after which a certain case is required. For example, the preposition "mit" always requires the dative case, and "fur"- accusative:
Ich komme mit dir.- I will go with you.
Danke für deine Antwort.- Thank you for your answer.
Dative prepositions
The following prepositions always appear in the dative case:
mit- with, through;
nach- to (direction); for, after;
aus- from;
zu- to, in (direction);
von- from, from;
bei- at, at;
seit from (about time), from;
außer- except;
entgegen- towards;
gegenüber against.
As a rule, prepositions gegenüber And entgegen are placed after a noun or pronoun.
Prepositions zu, von And bei and the following masculine or neuter article are combined into one preposition:
zu + dem = zum
von + dem = vom
bei + dem = beim
Pretext zur can also merge with the feminine article:
zu + der = zur
Let's look at a few examples of using prepositions:
Er geht zur Arbeit.— He's going to work.
Ich wohne bei meinen Eltern.- I live with my parents.
Sie kommen aus Deutschland.— They come from Germany.
Wir fahren nach Russland.— We are going to Russia.
Use a preposition mit, when talking about transport and means of transportation: Ich fahre mit dem Auto. — I drive a car.
You should also remember the following stable combinations:
zur Arbeit- to work
nach House- home
zu Hause- Houses
Accusative prepositions
The following prepositions always appear in the accusative case:
durch- through, through;
für- for, for;
ohne- without;
gegen- against, about (about time);
um- around, around; V; about (about time);
bis- before;
entlang- along.
Pretext ohne always used without an article. And the excuse entang often placed after a noun.
Let's look at a few examples with prepositions that require the accusative case after them:
Wir gehen durch den Wald.— We are walking through the forest.
Alles ist gegen meine Plane.- Everyone is against my plans.
Du sollst diesen Prospekt entlang gehen.- You need to walk along this avenue.
Please note that the preposition bis often combined with another preposition, usually this combination bis zu: Ich habe dieses Buch bis zum Ende. — I read this book to the end.
Accusative or dative?
There are also prepositions in German that require different cases depending on the context of the sentence - such prepositions can be combined with both the dative and the accusative case:
Er ist in der Schule.— He (where?) is at school.
Er geht in die Schule.— He goes (where?) to school.
As you can see, it all depends on the question - "Where?" is responsible for the dative case, "Where?"- for accusative. Here are the prepositions that can change case depending on the question:
in- V
an- on, at
auf- on
hinter- behind
neben- nearby, nearby
Uber- above
unter- under
vor- before
zwischen- between
As you noticed, all these prepositions indicate the arrangement of things and objects in space. The case depends on whether you are talking about location or direction. So remember: "wo?"- Where? requires the dative case, "wohin?"- Where? requires the accusative case.
Prepositions in And an merge with the masculine and neuter articles:
in + dem = im
in + das = ins
an + dem = am
an + das = ans
Also remember that the preposition auf denotes a horizontal surface, for example auf den Tisch- on the table. Pretext an denotes a vertical surface: an der Wand- on the wall.
Also a pretext an used with more abstract concepts that do not refer to vertical surfaces: am Meer- on the sea, am Fenster- near the window.
You should also remember some differences in the use of prepositions in And an. Remember:
im Institute- at the institute, but an der Universität- in the University.
Lesson assignments
Exercise 1. Open the brackets using the dative or accusative case.
1. Ich gehe mit (du). 2. Danke für (der Rat). 3. Sie gehen jeden Tag durch (der Park). 4. Nach (die Arbeit) gehe ich in den Supemarkt. 5. Wir fahren zu (unsere Mutter). 6. Ohne (du) kann ich das nicht machen. 7. Du findest den Blumenladen um (die Ecke). 8. Der Bus fährt bis zu (der Bahnhof). 9. Er hat den Text ohne (das Wörterbuch) übersetzt. 10. Monika kommt heute nicht zu (diese Stunde).
Exercise 2. Open parenthesis. Don't forget about the merger of articles and prepositions.
1. Ich gehe in (das Kino). 2. Er ist in (das Institut). 3. Ich stehe auf (der Berg). 4. Ich bin in (der Wald). 5. Wir sind an (die Universität). 6. Sie sind an (der Meer). 7. Sie sind in (die Bibliothek). 8. Jetzt ist sie in (der Flughafen). 9. Die Mutter geht in (der Park) spazieren. 10. Der Ball ist unter (der Tisch).
Answer 1.
1. dir. 2. den Rat. 3. den Park 4. der Arbeit 5. unserer Mutter. 6. ohne dich. 7. die Ecke 8. bis zum Bahnhof. 9. ohne Wörterbuch 10. zu dieser Stunde
Answer 2.
1. ins Kino 2. im Institut 3. auf dem Berg 4. im Wald 5. an der Universität 6. am Meer 7. in der Bibliothek 8. im Flughafen 9. im Park 10. dem Tisch
If you want to learn German prepositions easily and quickly, then this topic is for you!
Now you will have an advantage over other German language learners!
German prepositions have their pitfalls. The biggest problem is that prepositionsquite abstract. Moreover, there are no explicit instructionsfor use with the preposition of the correct case.
Of course, there are a lot of pretexts. Here I would like to tell you about the main ones, knowing which you will be able to express yourself quite freely.
After about 6 months of studying German, you should know the following prepositions:
Prepositions used with Akkusativ
durch, bis, für, ohne, entlang, gegen, um
Prepositions used with Dativ
bei, mit, seit, aus, zu, nach, von
Prepositions that are not used with any specific case:
hinter, an, neben, auf, unter, zwischen, vor, in, über
With which case to use the last group of prepositions depends on what the preposition from this group describes: a state of rest or action. This condition can be determined by asking a question. The question "Where?" determines the state of the action, the question “Where?” - state of rest.
Perhaps you once taught this rule as follows:
To the question "Where?" (Wohin?) Akkusativ should be used,
to the poros "Where?" (Wo?) - Dativ
For most students of German, prepositions that are not used with any particular case do not seem to be such an easy thing to understand. And all because these rules are too abstract and overflowing with information.
Here you will find three ways to learn German prepositions:
Songs
Paints
Mnemonic pictures
Let's start with the songs.
I will now show how songs work to memorize German prepositions using the example of a song about prepositions used with Akkusativ. Let us list these prepositions again: durch, bis, für, ohne, entlang, gegen, um
Find any song that you like and whose melody you can easily remember. It could be any song. Put the prepositions in such an order that you can sing them to this melody.
In this example, I would like to introduce you to serious German culture, so I took the German folk song "Laurentia". Ask your teacher or German teacher, they definitely know this song
I rearranged the order of these prepositions so that I could sing them to this melody. Here's what happened:
And this is how the Akkusativ song sounds:
Do the same with prepositions used with Dativ and with prepositions without a definite case. Just find a memorable melody, arrange the prepositions in order for singing to this melody, sing a few times, and you will see that it will be much easier and faster to remember these prepositions.
Don't want to invent it yourself? No problem! I have prepared two more songs especially for you.(The songs are included in the "Learn German Grammar With Mnemonics" kit)
By the way, why did I write prepositions used with Akkusativ in blue (on the sheet music)?
Colors can be a powerful tool when it comes to understanding the German case system. Especially when it comes to prepositions, the help of flowers can bring order and understanding to the chaos of the cases with which these prepositions are used.
So my advice:
Use blue color for Akkusativ And red color for Dativ. Why these particular colors? Of course, you can also use completely different colors. I chose these colors for my kit"Learn German with mnemonics" for certain reasons and based on these colors, he created an extensive system.
So, write all the prepositions used with Akkusativ in your dictionaries or on flashcards for learning words blue color. You will quickly remember the correspondence of color to case and then you will easily remember that this preposition is used with Akkusativ:
Do the same with prepositions using Dativ, but take red color:
With indefinite prepositions, you really see what a powerful tool color is. When writing these prepositions you need to use both colors: and red, And blue. How exactly to use them depends on your imagination. For example, it might look like this:
If you're already impressed by the use of colors in learning German prepositions, you'll be glad to know that you can combine color and mnemonic. So, let's look at an example for the preposition hinter (behind, behind):
So which case should you use in this situation?
Exactly? Are you right in thinking that Dativ?
If you prefer studying the language on your own over taking German courses, then you should pay special attention to the topic of prepositions. After all, these words can either help you understand the meaning of a sentence or confuse you. So what are the rules for using prepositions in German?
A preposition (German: Präposition) is an auxiliary part of speech that plays a connecting role: it combines individual words or phrases into a single semantic unit. Often prepositions take place before or after the object (German: Objekt) expressed by a noun or pronoun.
Combination of prepositions with cases
In German, certain prepositions can only be used with objects in one of three cases (Dativ, Genetiv, Akkusativ). Moreover, in many cases there is no analogy with the Russian language. Therefore, these auxiliary parts of speech need to be memorized, rather than looking for a logical connection with the native language. To facilitate self-study, along with each preposition in German and its most common translation, we provide a sentence or phrase where it is used.
Prepositions that can only be used with the dative case (Dativ):
- mit – with: mit dem Vater – with father;
- nach - in, on: der Zug nach Moskau - train to Moscow;
- aus - from: aus einer Flasche trinken - drink from a bottle;
- zu - to, in, on: zu dem Bahnhof - to the station;
- von – from, with, from: vom Lehrer – from the teacher;
- bei - at, at, near: bei dem Arzt - at the doctor;
- seit - since, since: seit dem 1. April - from the first of April;
- außer - outside, except: außer meiner Schwester - except for my sister;
- entgegen - on the contrary, towards, contrary to: entgegen meinen Erwartungen - contrary to my expectations;
- gegenüber – opposite: Das Krankenhaus steht gegenüber der Schule. - The hospital is located opposite the school.;
- ab – from, from, with: ab unserem Werk - from our factory;
- dank - thanks to: dank deiner Hilfe - thanks to your help;
- entsprechend - according to, accordingly, in accordance with: entsprechend seinem Vorschlag - according to his proposal;
- gemäß - according to, in accordance with: gemäß deinem Wunsch - in accordance with your desire;
- zufolge - according to, according to: seinem Wunsch zufolge - according to his wishes.
Prepositions that can only be combined with the accusative case (Akkusativ):
- durch - through, across, through: durch das Feld gehen - go through the field;
- für - for, for the sake of, in favor of: Blumen für die Frau - flowers for a woman;
- gegen – against, towards: gegen den Krieg – against war;
- ohne – without: Er kommt ohne seine Tochter. - He will come without his daughter.;
- um - around: um die Schule - around the school;
- bis – (up to): von München bis Leipzig - from Munich to Leipzig;
- entlang – along: den Fluß entlang – along the river;
- wider - against, contrary to: wider seinen Willen - contrary to his will.
Some prepositions can be used with both Dativ and Akkusativ:
- an – at, near (D), to (A): an der See - by the sea (D), die Tasse an den Mund setzen - bring the cup to your mouth (A);
- auf – on (D), (A): auf dem Haus sein - to be on the roof (D), auf das Regal legen - to put on a shelf (A);
- hinter - behind, behind (D), (A): hinter den Kollegen sitzen - sit behind colleagues (D), hinter das Bett stellen - put behind the bed (A);
- in – in, on (D), (A): Sie wohnt in der Wilhelmstraße. - She lives on Wilhelmstrasse (D).; in die Fabrik - to the factory;
- neben - near, near, at: (D), (A): neben dem Obstgarten - at the orchard (D), Stelle den Computer neben das Fenster! - Place the computer by the window! (A);
- über – over (D), (A): Sie wohnt über dir. - She lives above you (D).; eine Uhr über das Sofa hängen - hang a clock above the sofa (A);
- unter - under (D), (A): unter dem Vordach - under the canopy (D), sich unter das Vordach stellen - stand under the canopy (A);
- vor – before, behind (D), (A): Er stand vor ihr. - He stood in front of her (D).; vor die Tür legen - put in front of the door (A);
- zwischen - between, among (D), (A): Zwischen den Fenstern hängt ein Gemälde. - There is a painting hanging between the windows (D). Zwischen die Blumen stelle ich ein Foto. - Between the flowers I put a photo (A).
It is very simple to distinguish in which case which preposition is necessary. It is enough to pose a question to the addition to which the function word belongs: the question is where? (wo?) corresponds to Dativ, but where? (wohin?) – Akkusativ.
Prepositions of the genitive case (Genitiv):
- außerhalb - behind, outside: außerhalb der Stadt - outside the city;
- innerhalb - inside, during: innerhalb eines Monats - within a month;
- trotz - despite, despite: trotz des Regens - despite the rain;
- während - during, during: während des Essens - during meals;
- wegen - for the sake of, as a result of, because of: wegen der Mutter - for the sake of the mother.
In the process of learning the language on your own, you will probably come across the question - “What prepositions can form short forms with articles?” According to the norms of literary German, only five prepositions merge with articles into a single word, namely:
- an + dem, das = am, ans;
- bei + dem = beim;
- in + dem, das = im, ins;
- von + dem = vom;
- zu + dem, der = zum, zur.
Other short forms are allowed only in colloquial speech.
If you have been studying German on your own for a long time, but the topic of prepositions still causes difficulties, sign up for classes via Skype from the website. Our tutors will be happy to explain all the features to you, and you will very soon start using German prepositions without mistakes!
Prepositions belong to the auxiliary parts of speech, the task of which is to link words in a sentence by manipulating these words. Prepositions can have a variety of meanings, which can, in particular, have a temporal and spatial connotation. Based on this, such prepositions indicate time and place and, when combined with controlled words, answer the questions “when? – wann?”, “where? – wo?”, “where? - wohin?", "where from? - woher?” and others.
Prepositions of place and time in the German language represent two large groups, along with a third, which includes prepositions whose semantics contain abstract connections.
Prepositions of place in German
|
Preposition management |
Where? — Whoa? |
Where? — Wo? |
Where? — Woher? |
|
Akkusativ (accusativecase –Akk.) |
before - bis, through, through - durch, against - gegen, around, around - um | along - an...entlang, around, all around - um, um...herum |
|
|
Dativ (dativecase– D.) |
(towards) to - nach, (in the direction) to - zu | from - ab, about, at, at, next to, - bei, against gegenü
ber(can come before or after the controlled word), from - von … aus |
from - aus, from - von |
|
Genitiv (genitive case –G.) |
outside, outside - ausserhalb, inside, in - innerhalb | ||
|
Prepositions with different controls |
on, at (vertical surface), about - an, on (horizontal surface) - auf, behind, behind, behind - hinter, along – entlang(can come before or after the controlled word), inside, in - in, near, at, near - neben, above, above - ü ber, below, under - unter, before, in front - vor, between - zwischen | ||
Prepositions with different controls can be distinguished by asking questions to the corresponding phrases: to the question “where?” - wo? will answer dative (Dativ), and to the question “where? - who? – accusative (Akkusativ) case. For example:
- Du musst richtig andeinemTisch sitzen! – You must sit correctly at your desk! (Here the circumstance answers the question “where? – wo?”, and, accordingly, Dativ is used).
- Setz dich an den Tisch und iss dein Abendbrot in Ruhe! – Sit down at the table and eat your dinner in peace! (In this case, the circumstance answers the question “where? – wohin?”, and, accordingly, Akkusativ is used).
The preposition “on the contrary - gegenüber” always comes after a pronoun, and when used with a noun it can either precede or follow it. For example:
- Gegenüber unserem Büro hat man eine moderne Schwimmhalle gebaut. = Unserem Bureau gegenüber hat man eine moderne Schwimmhalle gebaut. – A modern swimming pool was built opposite our office.
- Ihm gegenüber ist ein schöner Wald. — Opposite it is a beautiful forest.
The preposition “along - entlang” is completely special: perhaps it is the only German preposition that has not double, but triple control (Genitiv - Dativ - Akkusativ), for example:
- Sie ging schnell den Fluss entlang(Akk.). “She walked quickly along the river bank.
- Diese Eisenbahn geht entlang dem Tunnel(D.). – This railway was laid along the tunnel.
- Diese Eisenbahn geht Entlang des Tunnels(G.). – This railway was laid along the tunnel.
Prepositions of place in German, using which you can answer the question “where?” –wohin?»
| Preposition of place + control | |
| before -bis (Akkusativ) | The meaning of this preposition involves reaching the final destination (“how far? – bis wohin?”). If the word that this final point denotes is used with an article, then another preposition is added to “bis” indicating case, for example:
|
| through -durch (Akkusativ) | The meaning of this preposition involves advancement through something (“through what? – wodurch?”). For example:
|
| along– entlang (Genitiv, Dativ, Akkusativ) | This preposition conveys movement parallel to something and generally corresponds to the verb “folgen”. In Genitiv this preposition comes before the controlled word, and in Dativ and Akkusativ it comes after the word it refers to, for example:
|
| against, with, on, about –gegen (Akkusativ) | This preposition conveys a movement that ends with some kind of contact with something (“with what? to what? etc. -wogegen?”), for example:
|
| around -um(Akkusativ) | This preposition conveys circular motion, in other words, movement around something (“around what? – worum?”). For example:
|
| V -nach | When using this preposition, an indication of a change in location is given (“where? - wohin?”). The names of countries, continents, parts of the world and cities are used without an article, and when indicating the direction, adverbs are used. For example:
|
| To -zu | This preposition is used when changing the location of people, to indicate a goal, a place and its data. Nouns are used with articles. For example:
|
| to, to –an
(Akkusativ) |
This preposition is used in cases when we are talking about trips to all kinds of bodies of water and moving / finding something directly to any vertical surface, for example:
|
| on -auf (Akkusativ) | This preposition is used to indicate public institutions and events, regions and islands where someone is going. For example:
|
| V -in (Akkusativ) | This preposition is used to indicate regular visits to any places or a trip for a long time to any buildings, organizations, institutions, trips to regions, countries (with articles) to the mountains, as well as to indicate movement into an enclosed space or to any street. For example:
|
Prepositions of place in German, using which you can answer the question “where?” –wo?»
| Preposition of place + control |
Meaning and features of use |
| along– an... entlang (Dativ) | The meaning of this preposition contains an indication of the location of something or someone along something. For example:
|
| around– um, um… herum (Akkusativ) | This preposition contains an indication of something that is located or happening around something, for example:
|
| from, from –ab (Dativ) | This preposition contains an indication of the starting point, for example:
|
| at, at, in, on –bei
(Dativ) |
This preposition is used when it is necessary to indicate the location of a person or object near something, with some people, or to work in some company. For example:
|
| against -gegnüber (Dativ) | This preposition can be placed either before or after the name. When used with pronouns, it always comes after them. For example:
|
| With, from, from- von...aus (Dativ) | This preposition answers the question from where? – von wo aus? and indicates the beginning, the starting point. For example:
|
| outside, beyond, beyond, beyond –ausserhalb (Dativ) | This preposition indicates that something is outside an enclosed space. For example:
|
| inside, in, within –innerhalb (Dativ | This preposition indicates that something is in a confined space or within some kind of framework. For example:
|
| at, about, at, on –an (Dativ) | This preposition is used in cases where we are talking about being on various bodies of water or when indicating being near any vertical surface. For example:
|
| on -auf (Dativ) | This preposition is used to indicate location in public institutions, events, regions and islands. For example:
|
| V -in (Dativ) | This preposition is used to indicate a regular or long stay in any places, buildings, organizations, institutions, regions, countries (with articles) in the mountains, as well as to indicate being indoors or on any street. For example:
|
Prepositions of place in German, using which you can answer the question from where? –woher?
| Preposition of place + control |
Meaning and features of use |
| from -aus | This preposition is used in cases where the question “where?” - wo? can be answered using the preposition “in”. This preposition denotes origin or movement from some place. For example:
|
| from -von | This preposition is used in cases where the question “where?” - wo? you can answer using the preposition “an, bei, auf, zu.” This preposition indicates the initial spatial point of any movement. For example:
This preposition can be used to replace “aus” in cases where the speaker wants to emphasize not a place, but a starting point, for example:
|
