Cases: cases overview Grimm Grammar

cases overview grimm grammar

Cases : Flle
What is a case, you may ask. Good question. In a sentence, the different nouns (or pronouns) have different
functions. For example, they can be the subject, the direct object, or the indirect object ... Although nouns in
English don't change their shape depending on the role they play in the sentence, in German they do: specifically,
they change the article that precedes them; and some nouns add an extra suffix as well.

Der Nominativ
The nominative case is used to describe the subject of a sentence. The subject is the main actor in the sentence, the
person who carries out an action:

Die sieben Zwerge wohnen in der Dachetage. The seven dwarves live in the loft
apartment.

Die bse Knigin wohnt in einem Turm mit einer The evil queen lives in a tower with a
Hexe. witch.

Der Akkusativ
The accusative case is used to describe the direct object of a sentence. The direct object is the immediate recipient
of an action or event:

Die sieben Zwerge haben eine neue The seven dwarves have a new apartment.
Wohnung.

Die alte Hexe macht ein Experiment - ihre The old witch is doing an experiment - her
arme Katze! poor cat!

Schneewittchen studiert Jura. Snow White is studying law.

The accusative case is also used with a few prepositions: durch, fr, gegen, ohne, and um. There will be a
handful of prepositions that can either take the accusative or the dative, but they are presented separately under
prepositions.

Die sieben Zwerge gehen durch den Wald The seven dwarves are walking through the
und singen ihr Lieblingslied: hi-ho, hi-ho ... forest and are singing their favorite song: hi-
ho, hi-ho ...

Sie sind ohne Ausnahme fr die Umwelt und They are for the environment and against
gegen die Benutzung von Autos, die zu viel the use of cars that use too much gas.
Benzin verbrauchen.

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Cases: cases overview Grimm Grammar

Sie arbeiten ohne Maschinen oder They work without machines or electricity.
Elektrizitt.

Sie gehen jetzt um einen schnen See Now they are walking around a pretty lake.
herum. He, Hatschi ist in den See gefallen. Ooops, Sneezy feel into the lake. No wonder
Kein Wunder, dass er immer niest! that he is always sneezing!

Finally, the accusative case is used to describe specific times:

Die sieben Zwerge wollten den ganzen The seven dwarves wanted to spend the
Nachmittag im Wald verbringen. entire afternoon in the forest.

Sie haben den ganzen Monat auf diesen Ausflug They waited for this outing the entire
gewartet! month!

Aber sie haben nur eine Stunde in der Natur But they were able to spend only one
verbringen knnen! Brummbr ist sehr grantig ... hour in nature. Grumpy is very grumpy ...

Der Dativ
The dative case is used to describe the indirect object of a sentence. The indirect object is the recipient of the direct
object. In addition to changes in the article, plural nouns also receive an -n suffix (except for nouns that already end
in an -n).

Rotkppchen bringt der Gromutter eine Flasche Little Red Riding Hood brings the
Wein und einen frischen Laib Brot. grandmother a bottle of wine and a
fresh loaf of bread.

Der Wolf zeigt dem kleinen Mdchen seine groen The wolf shows the little girl his big
Augen, seine groen Ohren, seinen groen Mund ... eyes, his big ears, his big mouth ... and
und dann frisst er es auf! then he gobbles her up!

The dative case is also used with some prepositions: aus, auer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, gegenber.

Der Jger kommt zu dem Haus von der The hunter comes to the house of the
Gromutter. Er will mit der Gromutter grandmother; he wants to talk to her. He
sprechen. Er liebt sie! Aber er hrt nur ein loves her! But he hears loud snoring.
lautes Schnarchen.

Der Wolf ist nach seinem Mittagessen The wolf fell asleep after his lunch.
eingeschlafen.

Der Jger schleppt den Wolf zu dem Fluss The hunter drags the wolf to the river and
und schneidet ihm den Bauch auf. cuts open his stomach. Little Red Riding Hood
Rotkppchen und die Gromutter springen and the grandmother jump out of the wolf's
aus dem Bauch des Wolfs - aber der Jger stomach - but the hunter doesn't say anything
kann nichts sagen ... Die Gromutter riecht ... The grandmother doesn't smell so good ...
nicht so gut ...

Finally, the dative case is used with a handful of verbs, for example danken, einfallen, folgen, and helfen:

Rotkppchen dankt dem Jger. Little Red Riding Hood thanks the hunter.

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Cases: cases overview Grimm Grammar

Er hat dem kleinen Mdchen geholfen. Er The hunter helped the little girl; he even
hat ihm sogar das Leben gerettet! saved her life!

Die Gromutter und Rotkppchen folgen Grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood follow
dem Jger zum Schloss - dort ist das Leben the hunter to the castle - life is much safer
viel sicherer ... na ja, und auch viel sauberer. there ... and, of course, also much cleaner.

Der Genitiv
The genitive case is dying a slow death in the German-speaking countries, especially in spoken language where it is
being replaced by the dative case. Nevertheless, it's important for you to know about the genitive case because you
will still encounter it in writing.

The genitive case describes possession and can be signaled by an -s suffix at the end of proper nouns or by a
change in the article (and an additional -s suffix on masculine and neuter nouns):

Der Jger mag Rotkppchens Gromutter! The hunter likes Little Red Riding Hood's
grandmother!

Kann er das Herz der alten Frau gewinnen? Can he win the heart of the old woman?

Wird er am Ende des Mrchens mit seiner At the end of the fairy tale, will he be
Geliebten in alle Ewigkeit zusammen sein? together with his beloved for ever and ever?

The genitive case is also used with several prepositions: (an)statt, trotz, whrend, and wegen:

Nach seiner Erfahrung erzhlt Rotkppchen After her experience, Little Red Riding Hood
seiner Mutter, was ihm passiert ist: Mutti, tells her mother what happened to her: Mom,
statt meiner Gromutter lag der Wolf im instead of my grandmother, the wolf was in
Bett! the bed!

Die Mutti antwortet dem Mdchen: Und du Her mother answers the little girl: And you
hast ihn trotz seiner groen Augen, groer didn't recognize him in spite of his big eyes,
Nase und groen Zhnen nicht erkannt? big nose and big teeth?

Rotkppchen sagt schluchzend: Mutti, du bist Little Red Riding Hood sobs out: Mom, you are
nicht sehr mitfhlend! Wegen der not very sympathetic! Because of the
Dunkelheit konnte ich nichts sehen! Es war darkness I couldn't see anything! It was, after
doch circa 1810 und es gab noch gar keine all, about 1810 and there was no electricity
Elektrizitt! yet!

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