Possive pronuns – nominative Case
M F N Pl
Ich mine Mein meine Mein Meine
Du your dein deine Dein Deine
Er his Sein seine Sein Seine
Sie hers Ihr ihre Ihr Ihre
wir ours unser unsere unser Unsere
ihr yours euer euere euer Euere
sie theirs ihr ihre ihr ihre
What is the Accusative Case?
The accusative case can also be called the direct object
case because it’s used whenever we talk about direct object.
Take a quick look at this overview of the 4 cases, the roles they signify,
and what those roles do in a sentence (i.e. how they relate to each other):
, A direct object is a person or thing that receives action from the subject.
I mow the grass.
He plants a garden.
You water the flowers.
You might find it really helpful to think of sentences as having ‘slots’ that
we either have to (or optionally may) fill in:
subject + verb + direct object
If that resonates with you, then think of it like this: in any sentence, we
have to fill up the ‘subject slot’ (nominative) first. There needs to be
someone or something that will do something.
The next slot is then the verb — what the subject is doing.
Then, if there is additional information needed (or just wanted), we
default to putting that word (or phrase, i.e. a collection of words)
into the ‘accusative slot’.
So, with our example of I see the tree, I could have just a simple subject +
verb, which is the most basic sentence possible: I see.
BUT I wanted to tell you WHO or WHAT I am seeing (who or what is the
‘recipient’ of my action of seeing), which is why I filled in the direct object
(accusative) slot next: the tree.
Subject always conjugates the verb
Maria hat einen Hund.(m)
Wir kaufen ein Auto.(n)
In German, though, the role of every noun in a given sentence is ‘flagged’
by little grammar changes (called declensions) to the words that come in
front of the noun.
M F N Pl
Ich mine Mein meine Mein Meine
Du your dein deine Dein Deine
Er his Sein seine Sein Seine
Sie hers Ihr ihre Ihr Ihre
wir ours unser unsere unser Unsere
ihr yours euer euere euer Euere
sie theirs ihr ihre ihr ihre
What is the Accusative Case?
The accusative case can also be called the direct object
case because it’s used whenever we talk about direct object.
Take a quick look at this overview of the 4 cases, the roles they signify,
and what those roles do in a sentence (i.e. how they relate to each other):
, A direct object is a person or thing that receives action from the subject.
I mow the grass.
He plants a garden.
You water the flowers.
You might find it really helpful to think of sentences as having ‘slots’ that
we either have to (or optionally may) fill in:
subject + verb + direct object
If that resonates with you, then think of it like this: in any sentence, we
have to fill up the ‘subject slot’ (nominative) first. There needs to be
someone or something that will do something.
The next slot is then the verb — what the subject is doing.
Then, if there is additional information needed (or just wanted), we
default to putting that word (or phrase, i.e. a collection of words)
into the ‘accusative slot’.
So, with our example of I see the tree, I could have just a simple subject +
verb, which is the most basic sentence possible: I see.
BUT I wanted to tell you WHO or WHAT I am seeing (who or what is the
‘recipient’ of my action of seeing), which is why I filled in the direct object
(accusative) slot next: the tree.
Subject always conjugates the verb
Maria hat einen Hund.(m)
Wir kaufen ein Auto.(n)
In German, though, the role of every noun in a given sentence is ‘flagged’
by little grammar changes (called declensions) to the words that come in
front of the noun.
