German prepositions: accusative, dative, and two-way explained

Prepositions are small words with a big job: they specify position, time, possession, or the way something is done. In German, every preposition also comes with a case attached, and that's where things get tricky. Some prepositions always take the accusative. Some always take the dative. A handful, called two-way prepositions, can take either one, depending on what you mean.

This guide walks through all three categories, plus how prepositions combine with articles to form contractions like am and ins, and how they pair with specific verbs to form fixed expressions. Don't despair. Once you see the patterns, it clicks faster than you'd expect. And if you'd rather practice these out loud with a teacher, you can always learn German with Lingoda's live classes.

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Accusative and dative prepositions at a glance

Before getting into verb combinations, it helps to know which prepositions always take which case.

Case	Prepositions	Meaning
Always accusative	durch, für, gegen, ohne, um	through, for, against, without, around
Always dative	aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu	from, at, with, after/to, since, from/of, to
Two-way (accusative or dative)	an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen	on, on top of, behind, in, next to, over/about, under, in front of, between

A sentence with an always-accusative or always-dative preposition never changes case, no matter what the sentence describes. Two-way prepositions are the exception, and they get their own section below.

Two-way prepositions: dative or accusative?

Two-way prepositions (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen) are the trickiest part of German prepositions, because the case depends on whether something is staying in place or moving to a new position.

Use the dative case for a static position, when nothing is changing location:

Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book is lying on the table.)

Use the accusative case for movement or a change in position:

Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. (I'm putting the book on the table.)

A useful way to think about it: Dative answers the question wo? (where?), and accusative answers wohin? (to where?). If you can rephrase the sentence as "where is it happening" versus "where is it going," you'll know which case to use.

Here's the same pattern with a different preposition:

Die Kinder spielen im Garten. (The children are playing in the garden, dative, static.)
Die Kinder laufen in den Garten. (The children are running into the garden, accusative, movement.)

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Prepositions and article contractions

German prepositions often combine with the definite article to form a single contracted word. You'll hear and read these constantly, so it's worth recognizing them early.

Preposition + article	Contraction	Example
an + dem	am	am Montag (on Monday)
an + das	ans	ans Fenster (to the window)
in + dem	im	im Sommer (in summer)
in + das	ins	ins Kino (into the cinema)
bei + dem	beim	beim Arzt (at the doctor's)
von + dem	vom	vom Bahnhof (from the station)
zu + dem	zum	zum Supermarkt (to the supermarket)
zu + der	zur	zur Schule (to school)

These contractions aren't optional in most everyday speech. Saying zu der Schule instead of zur Schule will sound overly formal or stilted to a native speaker.

How do verbs with prepositions work in German?

German verbs with prepositions are easy to learn if the verb is fixed with only one preposition and case. You'll then have to remember these two and their meaning. More often, though, various prepositions will express a difference in meaning. Regarding the case following the preposition, there are three possibilities:

• The verb has a preposition always followed by the dative case: aus, bei, mit, nach, von, zu
• The verb has a preposition always followed by the accusative case: für, gegen, um
• The verb has a two-way preposition, which can take either case: an, auf, in, über, unter, vor, zwischen

All seven of these are genuine two-way prepositions: an, auf, in, über, unter, vor, and zwischen each take either the accusative or the dative, depending on whether the sentence describes movement to a new position or a static location. See the two-way prepositions section above for the full rule and worked examples.

In a sentence, the preposition precedes the object or phrase to which the verb refers. It can specify a place, a person or recipient, an object, or a manner. 

How many German prepositions are there?

German verb preposition combinations are limited to a subset of all German prepositions. They only take the dative or accusative case, not the genitive case. Some so-called two-way prepositions can take both cases, not interchangeably, but with two different meanings.

• an (dat. + acc.) - to
• auf (dat. + acc.) - on
• aus (dat.) - from
• bei (dat.) - at
• durch (acc.) - by
• für (acc.) - for
• gegen (acc.) - against
• in (dat. + acc.) - in
• mit (dat.) - with
• nach (dat.) - after
• ohne (acc.) - without
• über (dat. + acc.) - about
• um (acc.) - to
• unter (dat. + acc.) - under
• von (dat.) - from
• vor (dat. + acc.) - before
• zu (dat.) - to
• zwischen (dat. + acc.) - between

How do you know what preposition to use in German?

Unfortunately, there are no clues or rules to tell you which preposition to use with a German verb. It's something you have to look up in a dictionary and then learn by rote memorization, similar to the case following the preposition. Pay attention to how native speakers combine German verbs with prepositions, and over time, you'll learn how the meaning of phrases changes accordingly. We'll also give you more tips for learning prepositions below.

For the proper cases, there are a few which can only take one case:

• Prepositions that always take the dative: bei, mit, von, nach, zu
• Prepositions that always take the accusative: ohne, für, durch, gegen

German verbs and prepositions list

The following overview will list the most important German verbs with prepositions. Here are a few examples of German verbs with prepositions as they're used in full sentences:

• Ich schicke die E-Mail an meine Freundin. I'm sending the email to my girlfriend.
• Wir müssen auf die Lautstärke achten. We have to watch the volume.
• Er bedankt sich bei mir. He is thanking me.

As you can see, only the first example follows the straightforward order of subject, verb, object. The verb senden (to send) is taking two objects here, with the preposition before the second, specifying the recipient.

The second example demonstrates the use with an auxiliary verb: the infinite part of the verb is in last position at the end of the sentence, preceded by the preposition and object.

Lastly, in the case of a reflexive verb, the pronoun comes before the preposition and the object, which in this case uses a dative case.

Verb + preposition	Case	English
Preposition an
ändern an	dat.	(to) change about
arbeiten an	dat.	(to) work on
denken an	acc.	(to) think of
glauben an	acc.	(to) believe in
hindern an	dat.	(to) prevent from
leiden an	dat.	(to) suffer from
schicken an	acc.	(to) send to
schreiben an	acc.	(to) write to
sterben an	acc.	(to) die of
teilnehmen an	dat.	(to) participate in
zweifeln an	dat.	(to) doubt
Preposition auf
achten auf	dat.	(to) watch, take care of
ankommen auf	acc.	(to) depend on
antworten auf	acc.	(to) answer to
aufpassen auf	acc.	(to) take care of
bestehen auf	acc.	(to) insist on
hoffen auf	acc.	(to) hope for
warten auf	acc.	(to) wait for
Preposition aus
bestehen aus	dat.	(to) consist of
Preposition bei
arbeiten bei	dat.	(to) work at
helfen bei	dat.	(to) help with
zuschauen / zusehen bei	dat.	(to) watch
zuhören bei	dat.	(to) listen to
Preposition für
ausgeben für	acc.	(to) spend for
danken für	acc.	(to) thank for
halten für	acc.	(to) take for
kämpfen für	acc.	(to) fight for
sein für	acc.	(to) be for
sorgen für	acc.	(to) care for
Preposition gegen
kämpfen gegen	acc.	(to) fight against
protestieren gegen	acc.	(to) protest against
sein gegen	acc.	(to) be against
Preposition mit
anfangen mit	dat.	(to) start with
aufhören mit	dat.	(to) stop (with)
beginnen mit	dat.	(to) begin with
handeln mit	dat.	(to) trade with / in
rechnen mit	dat.	(to) count on
spielen mit	dat.	(to) play with
sprechen mit	dat.	(to) speak with
streiten mit	dat.	(to) argue with
telefonieren mit	dat.	(to) call
vergleichen mit	dat.	(to) compare to / with
Preposition nach
fragen nach	dat.	(to) ask for
riechen nach	dat.	(to) smell like
schmecken nach	dat.	(to) taste like
suchen nach	dat.	(to) search for
Preposition über
diskutieren über	acc.	(to) discuss
erschrecken über	acc.	(to) get frightened by
erzählen über	acc.	(to) talk of / about
klagen über	acc.	(to) complain about
(nach)denken über	acc.	(to) think about
lachen über	acc.	(to) laugh about
reden über	acc.	(to) talk about
sagen über	acc.	(to) speak / say about
schimpfen über	acc.	(to) complain / swear about
sprechen über	acc.	(to) talk about
streiten über	acc.	(to) argue about
Preposition um
bitten um	acc.	(to) ask / plead for
gehen um	acc.	(to) revolve around
Preposition unter
leiden unter	acc.	(to) suffer from
Preposition von
abhängen von	dat.	(to) depend on
erfahren von	dat.	(to) learn about
erzählen von	dat.	(to) tell about
halten von	dat.	(to) think of / regard
handeln von	dat.	(to) revolve around / be about
hören von	dat.	(to) hear of
leben von	dat.	(to) live off
reden von	dat.	(to) talk about
träumen von	dat.	(to) dream of
verstehen von	dat.	(to) be versed in / skilled in
wissen von	dat.	(to) know about
Preposition vor
fliehen vor	dat.	(to) flee from
warnen vor	dat.	(to) warn of
Preposition zu
einladen zu	dat.	(to) invite to
gehören zu	dat.	(to) belong to
gratulieren zu	dat.	(to) gratulate on
kommen zu	dat.	(to) come to
sagen zu	dat.	(to) say to
schicken zu	dat.	(to) send to
werden zu	dat.	(to) become

German reflexive verbs with prepositions

Reflexive verbs use a reflexive pronoun to express that the subject and object of a verb in a sentence are the same, i.e. "I am cleaning myself," ich wasche mich. Such expressions are more common in German than in English. Of course, there are German reflexive verbs with prepositions as well.

Verb + preposition	Case	English
sich ärgern über	acc.	(to) get angry about / with
sich bedanken bei	dat.	(to) thank someone
sich bedanken für	acc.	(to) thank for
sich bemühen um	acc.	(to) strive for, be eager for
sich beschäftigen mit	dat.	(to) deal with, to concern with
sich beschweren bei	dat.	(to) complain to
sich beteiligen an	dat.	(to) take part in
sich bewerben bei	dat.	(to) apply at
sich bewerben um	acc.	(to) apply for
sich beziehen auf	acc.	(to) refer to
sich entscheiden für	acc.	(to) decide on
sich entschließen zu	dat.	(to) resolve to
sich entschuldigen für	acc.	(to) apologize for
sich entschuldigen bei	dat.	(to) apologize to
sich erholen von	dat.	(to) recover from
sich erinnern an	acc.	(to) recall / remember
sich erkundigen nach	dat.	(to) ask after
sich freuen auf	acc.	(to) look forward to
sich freuen über	acc.	(to) rejoice about
sich gewöhnen an	acc.	(to) get used to
sich handeln um	acc.	(to) be about
sich informieren über	acc.	(to) inform oneself about
sich interessieren für	acc.	(to) be interested in
sich konzentrieren auf	acc.	(to) concentrate on
sich kümmern um	acc.	(to) take care of / care for
sich schützen vor	dat.	(to) protect oneself from
sich sorgen um	acc.	(to) worry about / for
sich treffen mit	dat.	(to) meet with
sich treffen zu	dat.	(to) meet for
sich unterhalten mit	dat.	(to) talk with
sich unterhalten über	acc.	(to) talk about
sich verabreden mit	dat.	(to) arrange (to meet) with
sich verabschieden von	dat.	(to) say goodbye to
sich verlassen auf	acc.	(to) rely on
sich verstehen mit	dat.	(to) get along with
sich vorbereiten auf	acc.	(to) prepare oneself for
sich wenden an	acc.	(to) turn to
sich wundern über	acc.	(to) wonder about

Need to refresh your knowledge of German conjugation? Here's everything you need to know about modal verbs in German.

How to learn German verbs with prepositions

German verbs with prepositions can prove difficult, because, as you can see, a fixed expression with a German verb preposition combination can result in a more abstract meaning. In addition, you have to learn the prepositions and cases by heart. But here are a few tips to master German verbs with prepositions:

• Learn the list of prepositions at the same time as learning the verb, then remember the cases for each preposition.
• The best way to do so is with examples. Study sentences with German preposition verbs and pay attention to the cases.
• To make it easier, don't study the verbs in their alphabetical order, that's why we've grouped the above list by prepositions. Commit the most important verbs with one preposition to memory first, then move on to the next preposition.
• To strengthen your memory, come up with mnemonic sentences for each German verb with a preposition. They don't have to be logical, just memorable!

Are you looking for more verb lists for learning German? Start here and learn the one hundred most common German verbs first!

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