# German/Grammar/Prepositions and Postpositions

German has dative, accusative, genitive and two-way prepositions and postpositions. Each preposition causes the adverbial expression on which it acts to take the case of the preposition. Two-way prepositions cause the adverbial expression to take the accusative case if the verb indicates an action or movement, and the dative case if the verb refers to something that is not changing location.
Several German prepositions :
| Accusative | Dative | Genitive | two-way |
| bis | aus | während | an |
| durch | außer | trotz | auf |
| für | bei | statt, anstatt | hinter |
| gegen | mit | wegen | in |
| ohne | nach | innerhalb | neben |
| um | seit | außerhalb | über |
| wider | von | jenseits | unter |
| | zu | diesseits | vor |
| | gegenüber | unweit | zwischen |
| | ab | | entlang |
Notes:
Gegenüber is one of the rare postpositions which typically follows the object it modifies.
However:
Nach is also sometimes used as a postposition, when its meaning is "according to". The two phrases are equivalent:
In spoken language, the genitive with prepositions is nowadays often replaced by the dative. But it is important to notice that this replacement is still just colloquial language, e.g.:

## Two way Prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen)

The case with two way prepositions should be determined with questions like wo? (where?), wann? (when?), wohin? (where does it go to?) and wie? (how?).
Two-way prepositions :
| Prepositions | Wo? Wann? | Wohin? | Wie? |
| an, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen | Dative | Accusative | Dative |
| auf | Dative | Accusative | Accusative |

## Contractions

Some combinations of articles and prepositions are usually combined:
| Contraction | Preposition | Article |
| ans | an | das |
| am | an | dem |
| aufs | auf | das |
| beim | bei | dem |
| durchs | durch | das |
| fürs | für | das |
| ins | in | das |
| im | in | dem |
| übers | über | das |
| ums | um | das |
| unters | unter | das |
| vom | von | dem |
| vors | vor | das |
| vorm | vor | dem |
| zum | zu | dem |
| zur | zu | der |
In all other cases the preposition and articles have to be written separately.

## Verbs with prepositions

Several verbs are used with a specific preposition and case:
| Verb | Preposition | Case | Meaning (English) |
| arbeiten | an | dative | to work on |
| sich beteiligen | an | dative | to participate in / to take part in |
| denken | an | accusative | to think of sth. (close to sich errinern) |
| erkranken | an | dative | to get sick with |
| sich erinnern | an | accusative | to remember |
| sich gewöhnen | an | accusative | to become accustomed to |
| glauben | an | accusative | to believe in / to have confidence in |
| hängen | an | dative | to be attached to (used in passive form) |
| liegen (es liegt an) | an | dative | to be due to sth. (it is due to) |
| sich orientieren | an | dative | to follow someone's example |
| sterben | an | dative | to die from |
| teilnehmen | an | dative | to participate in / to compete in |
| sich wenden | an | accusative | to contact sb. / to turn to |
| zweifeln | an | dative | to doubt about sb./sth. / to be dubious about sth. |
| sich freuen | auf | accusative | to look forward to |
| schätzen | -/auf | accusative/accusative | to estimate sb./sth. at sth. (value) |
| schimpfen | mit/über | dative/accusative | to complain to sb. about sth./sb. |
| sich spezialisieren | auf | accusative | to specialize in sth. |
| stoßen | auf | accusative | to come across sth. / to encounter sb./sth. |
| sich verlassen | auf | accusative | to depend on / to rely on |
| verzichten | auf | accusative | to forgo / to pass sth. up |
| sich vorbereiten | auf | accusative | to prepare oneself for |
| warten | auf | accusative | to wait for |
| antworten | auf | accusative | to answer to / to reply to |
| basieren | auf | dative | to be based on |
| beharren | auf | dative | to insist on |
| beruhen | auf | dative | to be based on / to rely on |
| sich beschränken | auf | accusative | to confine oneself to / to restrict oneself to |
| bestehen | auf | dative | to insist on |
| eingehen | auf | accusative | to mention sth. / to discuss sth. / to react to sth./sb. / to focus on sb. |
| einwirken | auf | accusative | to impact on sth. / to act upon sth./sb. |
| sich konzentrieren | auf | accusative | to focus on / to concentrate on |
| verweisen | auf | accusative | to point sth. out / to refer to sb./sth. |
| bestehen | aus | dative | to consist of |
| folgen | aus | dative | to result from |
| sich bedanken | bei/für | dative/accusative | to thank sb. for sth. |
| sich beschweren | bei/über | dative/accusative | to complain to sb. about sth. |
| bleiben | bei | dative | to adhere to sth. / to stay with sb. |
| ersetzen | -/durch | accusative/accusative | to replace sb./sth. to sb./sth. |
| sich unterscheiden | durch | accusative | to be distinguished by sth. |
| sich eignen | für | accusative | to suit sb./sth. / to be suitable for |
| eintreten | für | accusative | to stand up for sth. |
| sich entscheiden | für | accusative | to decide upon sb./sth. / to opt for sth. |
| sich entschuldigen | bei | dative | to apologize to sb. |
| gelten | als | accusative | to be considered as |
| halten | -/für | accusative/accusative | to take sb./sth. for sb./sth. |
| sich interessieren | für | accusative | to be interested in |
| sorgen | für | accusative | to take care of / to care for |
| sprechen | für | accusative | to speak on behalf of |
| protestieren | gegen/für | accusative | to protest against/for |
| stimmen | gegen/für | accusative | to vote against/for |
| verstoßen | gegen | accusative | to transgress / to violate |
| sich wehren | gegen | accusative | to fight / to defend oneself against |
| geraten | in | accusative | to stumble into sth. |
| einwilligen | in | accusative | to consent |
| sich teilen | in | accusative | to divide in / to split up in / to share |
| sich verlieben | in | accusative | to fall in love with / to become fond of |
| sich irren | in | dative | to be mistaken about |
| sich täuschen | in | dative | to be wrong about |
| sich üben | in | dative | to practice sth. |
| unterrichten | in | dative | to teach sb./sth. |
| sich unterscheiden | in | dative | to differ in sth. |
| beginnen | mit | dative | to begin with |
| anfangen | mit | dative | to begin with |
| aufhören | mit | dative | to stop |
| sich befassen | mit | dative | to deal with |
| sich begnügen | mit | dative | to be content with |
| sich beschäftigen | mit | dative | to busy oneself with / to be concerned with |
| handeln | mit | dative | to deal in sth. / to deal with sb. |
| rechnen | mit | dative | to calculate / to reckon on sth. |
| übereinstimmen | mit | dative | to be consistent with sth. / to comply with sth. |
| vergleichen | mit | dative | to compare with |
| versorgen | mit | dative | to supply with sth. |
| zusammenhängen | mit | dative | to be related to sth. |
| zusammenstoßen | mit | dative | to bump into sb. |
| sich erkundigen | nach | dative | to enquire about |
| fragen | nach | dative | to ask about |
| sich richten | nach | dative | to go by sb./sth. / to comply with sth. |
| riechen | nach | dative | to smell of |
| schmecken | nach | dative | to taste / to savour of |
| sich sehnen | nach | dative | to yearn about / to long for sb./sth. |
| suchen | nach | dative | to search for |
| sich bemühen | um | accusative | to strive for / to care about |
| beneiden | um | accusative | to envy sb. |
| bitten | um | accusative | to ask about / to beg for |
| sich handeln (es handelt sich) | um | accusative | it is about |
| sich kümmern | um | accusative | to look after |
| trauern | um | accusative | to be sad about sth. / to grieve about sth. |
| sich aufregen | über | accusative | to be excited about sth. |
| sich ärgern | über | accusative | to be angry about |
| sich beklagen | über | accusative | to complain about |
| berichten | über | accusative | to report on/about |
| diskutieren | über | accusative | to discuss sth. (e.g. discuss pros and cons) |
| entscheiden | über | accusative | to decide on sth. |
| erschrecken | über | accusative | to be frightened of |
| sich freuen | über | accusative | to be pleased with / to be happy about |
| klagen | über | accusative | complain about sth. |
| lachen | über | accusative | to laugh about |
| nachdenken | über | accusative | to reflect on sth. / to think about sth. |
| schimpfen | mit/über | accusative | to scold sb. / to complain about sth. |
| sich unterhalten | mit/über | dative/accusative | to converse with sb. about sth. |
| verfügen | über | accusative | to have sth. at one's disposal / to have sth. available |
| verhandeln | mit/über | dative/accusative | to negotiate with sb. about sth. |
| sich wundern | über | accusative | to wonder at / to be astonished about |
| hängen | von | dative | to depend on |
| absehen | von | dative | to refrain from / to abstain from |
| ausgehen | von | dative | to come from / to expect |
| profitieren | von | dative | to profit from / to benefit from |
| schwärmen | von | dative | to enthuse about / to have a passion for |
| träumen | von | dative | to dream of |
| sich trennen | von | dative | to separate from sb./sth. |
| sich verabschieden | von | dative | to bid farewell to sb. |
| fliehen/flüchten | vor | dative | to escape from / to flee from |
| sich fürchten | vor | dative | to be afraid of |
| schützen | vor | dative | to protect from |
| warnen | vor | dative | to warn about |
| beitragen | zu | dative | to contribute to / to add sth. to |
| sich eignen | zu | dative | to qualify for |
| sich entschließen | zu | dative | to decide to |
| führen | zu | dative | to result in |
| gehören | zu | dative | to belong to |
| gratulieren | zu | dative | to congratulate on sth. |
| neigen | zu | dative | to tend to / to be prone to |
| überreden | -/zu | accusative/dative | to talk sb. into sth. / to convince sb. to |
| zählen | zu | dative | to belong to |