A1 · 4.1 · der Kasus

What is a case in German?

A case shows a word’s job in the sentence. German has 4 cases, and the article changes to show the case.

Nominativ

The subject: who does it? Der Koch kocht. (The cook is cooking.)

Akkusativ

The direct object: what or whom? Ich sehe den Koch. (I see the cook.)

Dativ

The receiver: to or for whom? Ich gebe dem Koch das Messer. (I give the cook the knife.)

Genitiv

Whose? Das Messer des Kochs. (the cook’s knife; rare in speech, B1)

German word order is more flexible than English, so the article tells you who does what.

Der Hund sieht den Mann.The dog sees the man.

Den Hund sieht der Mann.The man sees the dog.

Good to know 2

Good news: only der really changes in the accusative (der → den). die, das and plural stay the same.

In A1 you need Nominativ, Akkusativ and Dativ. Genitiv comes in B1.

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