German cases chart: der, die, das in all four cases
German nouns change their article depending on the job they do in a sentence. There are four cases and three genders plus the plural, which gives the famous grid of der, den, dem and des. Here is every chart you need on one page, with a plain-English guide to what each case is for.
The definite article: der, die, das
| Case | Masc.Masculine | Fem.Feminine | Neut.Neuter | Pl.Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom.Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Acc.Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dat.Dative | dem | der | dem | den (+ -n) |
| Gen.Genitive | des (+ -s) | der | des (+ -s) | der |
Notice how little changes: the feminine and the plural are identical except in the dative, and the accusative only differs from the nominative in the masculine. Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es in the genitive: des Mannes, des Kindes.
The indefinite article: ein, eine
| Case | Masc.Masculine | Fem.Feminine | Neut.Neuter | Pl.Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom.Nominative | ein | eine | ein | – |
| Acc.Accusative | einen | eine | ein | – |
| Dat.Dative | einem | einer | einem | – |
| Gen.Genitive | eines | einer | eines | – |
There is no plural of “a”, just as in English: ein Hund, Hunde.
The negative article: kein
| Case | Masc.Masculine | Fem.Feminine | Neut.Neuter | Pl.Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom.Nominative | kein | keine | kein | keine |
| Acc.Accusative | keinen | keine | kein | keine |
| Dat.Dative | keinem | keiner | keinem | keinen |
| Gen.Genitive | keines | keiner | keines | keiner |
Kein takes the same endings as ein, and it has a plural. Possessives follow the same pattern: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer.
What each case does
Nominative wer? (who?)
The subject: who or what does the action.
Der Hund schläft.
The dog is sleeping.
Accusative wen? (whom?)
The direct object: who or what the action is done to.
Ich sehe den Hund.
I see the dog.
Dative wem? (to whom?)
The indirect object: who receives something or benefits.
Ich gebe dem Hund einen Knochen.
I give the dog a bone.
Genitive wessen? (whose?)
Possession, like English 's or 'of'.
der Napf des Hundes
the dog's bowl
Personal pronouns in every case
| English | Nom.Nominative | Acc.Accusative | Dat.Dative |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ich | mich | mir |
| you (informal) | du | dich | dir |
| he | er | ihn | ihm |
| she | sie | sie | ihr |
| it | es | es | ihm |
| we | wir | uns | uns |
| you (plural) | ihr | euch | euch |
| they | sie | sie | ihnen |
| you (formal) | Sie | Sie | Ihnen |
The genitive pronouns (meiner, deiner) are rare today; you will mostly meet the possessives instead.
Which prepositions take which case
Always accusative
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, bis, entlang
Das ist für dich. That's for you.
Always dative
aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenüber
Ich fahre mit dem Bus. I'm going by bus.
Accusative or dative (two-way)
an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen
Ich gehe in den Park. / Ich bin im Park. I'm going into the park (where to: accusative). / I'm in the park (where: dative).
Genitive
wegen, trotz, während, statt
wegen des Wetters because of the weather
Some prepositions merge with the article: in dem becomes im, an dem becomes am, zu dem becomes zum and zu der becomes zur.
Questions
How many cases are there in German?
Four: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. The case shows the job a noun does in the sentence, and it mostly shows up on the article (der, den, dem, des) rather than on the noun itself.
Which German case changes the most?
The dative. Every gender changes (dem, der, dem) and plural nouns add -n where they can: mit den Kindern. In the accusative only the masculine changes: der becomes den.
Is the genitive still used in German?
Yes, in writing and in set phrases, but in everyday speech Germans often replace it with von plus the dative: das Auto von meinem Vater instead of das Auto meines Vaters. Genitive prepositions like wegen are often followed by the dative in speech too.
How do I know which case to use?
Ask what the noun is doing. The subject is nominative, the thing directly affected is accusative, the person receiving is dative, and the owner is genitive. After a preposition, the preposition decides, so learn each one with its case.
What does 'den (+ -n)' mean in the chart?
In the dative plural the article is den and the noun adds -n if it doesn't already end in -n or -s: die Kinder becomes den Kindern, but die Autos stays den Autos.
Learn each case step by step
The course teaches one case at a time, with example sentences, audio and drills.