Ich sehe den Hund.
English: I see the dog.
- Language
- German
- Level
- A1
- Unit
- Nomen und Kasus
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
The accusative case (Akkusativ) in German is used to show the direct object of a sentence—the person or thing that receives the action.
When to use it
Use the accusative in German when you want to say who or what is directly affected by the verb. It is also used after certain prepositions (like 'für', 'durch', 'um', etc.).
Key forms
- den (masculine definite article), die (feminine), das (neuter), die (plural)
- einen (masculine indefinite article), eine (feminine), ein (neuter)
Examples
Sie hat einen Apfel.
English: She has an apple.
Wir kaufen die Blumen.
English: We buy the flowers.
Er trinkt das Wasser.
English: He drinks the water.
Tips
- Only the masculine articles change in the accusative (der → den, ein → einen). Feminine, neuter, and plural forms stay the same as in nominative.
- Watch out for verbs that always need an object (like 'haben', 'sehen', 'kaufen').
- Remember that some prepositions always take the accusative, like 'für', 'durch', 'um', 'ohne', 'gegen'.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some verbs can take both accusative and dative objects, but at A1 level, focus on simple direct objects.
- Personal pronouns also change in the accusative (ich → mich, du → dich, etc.).