1. German- Cases
There are four cases in German:
• Nominative
• Accusative
• Dative
• Genitive
Cases represent the parts of speech within a sentence.
They are an important part of German grammar as they
are responsible for the endings of adjectives, indefinite
articles and when to use which personal pronouns.
3. Nominative Case
The nominative case is used with the subject of the sentence.
The subject is the person or thing performing the action of the verb
(the doer of the sentence).
For example:
• Frau Schmidt fliegt nach Rom (Mrs. Schmidt is flying to Rome)
Frau Schmidt is the subject, the one flying to Rome, and is
therefore in the nominative case.
• Der Hund schläft auf dem Sofa ( The dog is sleeping on the sofa).
The dog is the subject, the one sleeping on the sofa, and is
therefore in the nominative case.
• Ich habe viele Hausaufgaben ( I have a lot of homework)
Ich is the subject, the one who has a lot of homework, and is t
herefore in the nominative case.
4. Personal pronouns in the nominative case
Singular Plural
1. person
ich (I) wir (we)
2. person, familiar form
du (you) ihr (you)
2. person, polite form
Sie (you) Sie (you)
3. person
er (he)
sie(she)
es (it) sie (they)
5. Der Mann geht ins Kino
The man is going to the movies.
Er geht ins Kino.
Der Mann is replaced by the masculine
pronoun er.
He is going to the movies.
6. Die Frau kauft Lebensmittel.
The woman buys groceries.
Sie kauft Lebensmittel.
Die Frau is replaced by the feminine
pronoun sie.
She buys groceries.
7. Accusative Case Review
The accusative case is used to mark the direct object of the
sentence. That is, the person or thing receiving the action of the
verb.
For example:
Ich sehe den Mann. ('I see the man.')
I (ich) is the subject of the sentence, the one doing the seeing.
The man (Mann) is the direct object, the one being seen.
The man (Mann) is in the accusative case.
Die Frau kauft einen Rock. ('The woman is buying a skirt.')
The woman (die Frau) is the subject, the one doing the buying.
The skirt (Rock) is the direct object, the thing being bought, and is in
the accusative case.
