Accusative or Dative in German
Decide between accusative and dative with one question, and get stellen/stehen, legen/liegen and two-object verbs right.
Many learners hesitate between den and dem after in, auf or an. The choice isn't random: it depends on whether something moves to a new place or is already there.
The same logic explains verb pairs like legen and liegen, and a simple rule sorts out verbs with two objects.
Wohin? takes accusative, Wo? takes dative
With the nine two-way prepositions, movement towards a new place takes the accusative. A location where something already is takes the dative.
Same preposition, two cases
- Wohin? · inin den Parkgoing into
- Wo? · inim Parkalready there
- Wohin? · aufauf den Tischputting onto
- Wo? · aufauf dem Tischlying on
Ich gehe in die Küche.
I'm going into the kitchen.
Ich koche in der Küche.
I'm cooking in the kitchen.
Leg das Handy auf den Tisch!
Put the phone on the table!
Das Handy liegt auf dem Tisch.
The phone is on the table.
Verb pairs that decide the case
Putting verbs are regular and take the accusative. Position verbs are irregular and take the dative.
Wohin? You put it there (+ accusative)
- uprightstellen
- flatlegen
- seatedsetzen
- hanginghängenpast: hängte
Wo? It is there (+ dative)
- uprightstehen
- flatliegen
- seatedsitzen
- hanginghängenpast: hing
Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand.
I'm hanging the picture on the wall.
Das Bild hängt an der Wand.
The picture is hanging on the wall.
Verbs with two objects
Verbs like geben, schenken, zeigen and erklären take a dative person and an accusative thing.
- Person = dative, thing = accusative.
- Two nouns: dative before accusative.
- Accusative pronoun: it moves in front of the dative.
Ich zeige dem Gast das Zimmer.
I'm showing the guest the room.
Ich zeige es dem Gast.
I'm showing it to the guest.
Moving around inside one place
Movement alone isn't enough: it has to change place. Running around inside the garden stays dative; running into it is accusative.
Die Kinder rennen im Garten.
The children are running around in the garden.
Die Kinder rennen in den Garten.
The children run into the garden.
Common mistakes
✗
Ich lege das Buch auf dem Tisch.✓ Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch.
legen moves it to a place: accusative.
✗
Das Auto steht in die Garage.✓ Das Auto steht in der Garage.
stehen describes a location: dative.
✗
Ich gebe das Kind den Ball.✓ Ich gebe dem Kind den Ball.
The receiver is always dative: dem Kind.
Questions learners ask
How do I know if there's movement?
Ask whether the thing ends up in a different place. If you can ask Wohin?, use the accusative; if only Wo?, use the dative.
Do all prepositions follow the Wo/Wohin rule?
No, only nine: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen. Others never switch: mit is always dative, für always accusative.
Why is it 'Ich komme in Berlin an' with the dative?
ankommen describes where you are when you arrive, so German asks Wo?. The same goes for bleiben and wohnen.