Accusative case
Foreign LanguagesDefinition
The accusative case (der Akkusativ) is a grammatical case used primarily in German to mark the direct object of a verb—the person or thing directly receiving the action. It changes the form of articles and pronouns, most noticeably in the masculine gender.
Examples
- 'Ich sehe den Mann' (I see the man)—'den' is the masculine accusative article replacing 'der.'
- 'Sie hat einen Hund' (She has a dog)—'einen' is the accusative form of 'ein.'
- Certain prepositions like 'für' (for), 'durch' (through), and 'ohne' (without) always take the accusative.
Key Fact
In German, only the masculine article changes in the accusative: der → den, ein → einen. Feminine, neuter, and plural articles stay the same.
Study This Concept
Practice accusative case with free review games in these units: