German B1 - Intermediate Grammar & Conversational Phrases

The Nominative Case (der, die, das) identifies the subject of a sentence – the person or thing performing the action. It answers the questions 'Wer?' (Who?) or 'Was?' (What?).
Example: Der Mann liest ein Buch. (The man reads a book.)

The Accusative Case (den, die, das) identifies the direct object of a sentence – the person or thing directly affected by the action. It answers the questions 'Wen?' (Whom?) or 'Was?' (What?).
Example: Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.)

The Dative Case (dem, der, dem) identifies the indirect object of a sentence – the person or thing to whom or for whom an action is performed. It answers the questions 'Wem?' (To whom?).
Example: Ich gebe dem Kind einen Apfel. (I give an apple to the child.)

The Genitive Case (des, der, des) expresses possession or belonging, similar to 'of' or 's in English. It answers the question 'Wessen?' (Whose?).
Example: Das ist das Auto meines Vaters. (That is my father's car.)

Common Accusative Prepositions: für (for), durch (through), gegen (against), ohne (without), um (around).
Example: Ich kaufe ein Geschenk für meinen Freund. (I buy a gift for my friend.)

Common Dative Prepositions: aus (out of), außer (except for), bei (at/with), mit (with), nach (after/to), seit (since), von (from/by), zu (to).
Example: Ich fahre mit dem Bus. (I travel by bus.)

Two-way prepositions (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen) take the Dative Case when indicating a fixed location or no change of state. They answer 'Wo?' (Where?).
Example: Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book lies on the table.)

Two-way prepositions (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen) take the Accusative Case when indicating movement towards a destination or a change of state/location. They answer 'Wohin?' (Where to?).
Example: Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. (I lay the book onto the table.)