Accusative Case.
A question “what” or “whom” can be asked about the accusative (direct
object).
It is used when we have 2 persons or 2 things
Das kind ist gluchlich – Nominative
Das kind sieht einen Hund
Der Hund sieht ein kind
Q- Was macht die Frau ? machen – to do
Sie schaut einen film. Schauen – to watch
Q – Was macht der mann ?
Er schreibt einen brief schreiben – to write
Prepositons commonly used with accusative
Bis Until
Ohne without
Um around
Für for
Durch through
Gegen against
entlang along
verbs commonly used with accusative
suchen to search
finden to find
kaufen
lesen to read
besuchen
bestellen order
trinken
, What is the subject of a sentence?
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that is “doing” the verb. To find the subject,
look for the verb and ask “Who or what is doing?” (substitute the verb for “doing” -- Who or
what is singing? Who or what is sleeping?) Subjects are always in the NOMINATIVE CASE.
What is the direct object of a sentence?
The direct object receives the action of the verb. To find the direct object, look for the verb
and ask “Who or what is being verbed?” (as in Who or what is being kicked? Who or what is
being read?) Direct objects take the ACCUSATIVE CASE.
For example:
The woman sees the girl. The woman is the subject and is nominative.
the girl is the direct object and is accusative.
The girl sees the woman. The girl is the subject and is nominative.
the woman is the direct object and is accusative.
In English the articles “the”, “a” and “an” do not change depending on whether the noun is
accusative or nominative. (Only pronouns change case in English: compare “She sees me”
and “I see her”.)
In German not only the personal pronouns but also many other words change their form
based on case. The articles (der, ein, kein, etc.), possessive adjectives (mein, dein, etc.),
and a few (unusual) nouns all change their form (usually by adding or changing endings)
depending on what case they are in. Right now we’ll be dealing mostly with the definite
articles (der/die/das) and the indefinite articles (ein/eine); the table below shows how they
change in the accusative case:
Nominative
Definite Indefinite
Masc. Der Tisch ist braun. Das (that ) ist ein Tisch.
Fem. Die Lampe ist neu. Das ist eine Lampe.
Neut. Das Fenster ist offen. Das ist ein Fenster.
Plural Die Bücher sind interessant. Das sind keine Bücher.
All of the nouns above are in the nominative case because they are
the subjects of the sentences or because they follow the verb “sein.”
Accusative
Definite Indefinite
Masc. Ich sehe den Tisch. Ich habe einen Tisch.
Fem. Ich sehe die Lampe. Ich habe eine Lampe.
Neut. Ich sehe das Fenster. Ich habe ein Fenster.
Plural Ich sehe die Bücher. Ich habe keine Bücher.
A question “what” or “whom” can be asked about the accusative (direct
object).
It is used when we have 2 persons or 2 things
Das kind ist gluchlich – Nominative
Das kind sieht einen Hund
Der Hund sieht ein kind
Q- Was macht die Frau ? machen – to do
Sie schaut einen film. Schauen – to watch
Q – Was macht der mann ?
Er schreibt einen brief schreiben – to write
Prepositons commonly used with accusative
Bis Until
Ohne without
Um around
Für for
Durch through
Gegen against
entlang along
verbs commonly used with accusative
suchen to search
finden to find
kaufen
lesen to read
besuchen
bestellen order
trinken
, What is the subject of a sentence?
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that is “doing” the verb. To find the subject,
look for the verb and ask “Who or what is doing?” (substitute the verb for “doing” -- Who or
what is singing? Who or what is sleeping?) Subjects are always in the NOMINATIVE CASE.
What is the direct object of a sentence?
The direct object receives the action of the verb. To find the direct object, look for the verb
and ask “Who or what is being verbed?” (as in Who or what is being kicked? Who or what is
being read?) Direct objects take the ACCUSATIVE CASE.
For example:
The woman sees the girl. The woman is the subject and is nominative.
the girl is the direct object and is accusative.
The girl sees the woman. The girl is the subject and is nominative.
the woman is the direct object and is accusative.
In English the articles “the”, “a” and “an” do not change depending on whether the noun is
accusative or nominative. (Only pronouns change case in English: compare “She sees me”
and “I see her”.)
In German not only the personal pronouns but also many other words change their form
based on case. The articles (der, ein, kein, etc.), possessive adjectives (mein, dein, etc.),
and a few (unusual) nouns all change their form (usually by adding or changing endings)
depending on what case they are in. Right now we’ll be dealing mostly with the definite
articles (der/die/das) and the indefinite articles (ein/eine); the table below shows how they
change in the accusative case:
Nominative
Definite Indefinite
Masc. Der Tisch ist braun. Das (that ) ist ein Tisch.
Fem. Die Lampe ist neu. Das ist eine Lampe.
Neut. Das Fenster ist offen. Das ist ein Fenster.
Plural Die Bücher sind interessant. Das sind keine Bücher.
All of the nouns above are in the nominative case because they are
the subjects of the sentences or because they follow the verb “sein.”
Accusative
Definite Indefinite
Masc. Ich sehe den Tisch. Ich habe einen Tisch.
Fem. Ich sehe die Lampe. Ich habe eine Lampe.
Neut. Ich sehe das Fenster. Ich habe ein Fenster.
Plural Ich sehe die Bücher. Ich habe keine Bücher.
