Common Accusative Prepositions

1.Accusative prepositions

Some German prepositions always require the accusative. At A1, the most important group is durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. When a noun phrase follows one of these prepositions, the preposition determines its case.

The two-way prepositions an, auf, in, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen are covered separately because they can take accusative or dative depending on the structure.

2.A preposition can determine the case

The accusative often marks a direct object: Ich sehe den Mann.. Here den Mann is accusative because sehen takes an accusative object.

With a preposition, the mechanism is different: Das Geschenk ist für den Mann.. Here den Mann is not a direct object of sein. It is accusative because für requires the accusative.

The case of a prepositional phrase is primarily determined by the preposition.

3.The five main accusative prepositions

These five are useful as one fixed group: each takes the accusative. The case is not always visible in the form. In um acht Uhr, for example, there is no article. The preposition still belongs to the accusative group.

4.Article forms after these prepositions

With the definite article, the accusative forms are:

The change is especially visible in the masculine: der Park → durch den Park, der Mann → für den Mann, der Plan → gegen den Plan.

With feminine, neuter and plural forms, the surface form may stay the same: durch die Stadt, durch das Zentrum, durch die Straßen. So the accusative cannot always be recognized from an ending alone — you also need to know the preposition.

5.durch: movement through a space

durch often describes a route through a space, opening or area.

Pattern: durch + accusative — durch den Park, durch die Stadt, durch das Fenster, durch die Straßen.

More abstract uses also occur: Durch einen Fehler ist die Adresse falsch.. For A1, the most useful mental model is: durch = through an area / from one side through to another.

6.für: intended recipient, purpose or use

für very often shows who or what something is intended for.

Typical combinations: für den Kurs, für die Familie, für das Kind, für meine Freunde.

für can also indicate an intended period of time: Wir bleiben für zwei Tage in Berlin.. There is no visible article here, but für is still an accusative preposition.

7.gegen: opposition, contact and approximate time

gegen has several common uses.

Being against something

Er ist gegen den Plan. — gegen den Plan means not in favour of the plan.

Movement or contact against a surface

Der Ball fliegt gegen die Wand.

Approximate clock time

Wir kommen gegen acht Uhr. — approximately around eight o'clock.

The case rule remains the same: gegen + accusative. With a time expression without an article, the case is simply not visible.

8.ohne: absence or lack

ohne expresses that someone or something is not present, not involved or missing.

A noun after ohne also often appears without an article: Kaffee ohne Zucker., Er geht ohne Jacke nach draußen.. When there is no article, the accusative is not directly visible. The preposition still governs it.

9.um: around something and at clock times

At A1, um has two especially important uses.

Spatial: around something

Time: an exact clock time

Clock times normally have no article, so no accusative ending is visible.

um in the construction um ... zu + infinitive is a different grammatical structure and is not the focus of this A1 page.

10.The accusative is not always visible

With masculine articles, the accusative is often obvious: wrong für der Mann, correct für den Mann.

But many forms do not change: für die Frau, für das Kind, für die Freunde. There may also be no visible case marker when there is no article: ohne Zucker, gegen acht Uhr, für zwei Tage.

The useful way to think is not «I cannot see an ending → there is no case». Instead: the preposition requires a case, even when the form does not show it visibly.

11.ein, kein and possessive articles

In the masculine, the accusative form is especially clear.

The general masculine pattern is: ein → einen, kein → keinen, mein → meinen, dein → deinen, sein → seinen, ihr → ihren.

12.Contractions: durchs, fürs, ums

Some combinations with das are commonly contracted:

The full form makes the grammar clear: durchs Zentrum = durch das Zentrum, fürs Büro = für das Büro, ums Haus = um das Haus. These contractions do not change the case: das is the neuter accusative form here.

13.Pronouns after the preposition

Accusative prepositions can be used not only with nouns but also with pronouns. Common examples: für mich, für dich, ohne ihn, gegen sie, um uns.

After an accusative preposition, a personal pronoun must also be in its accusative form.

14.Direct object ≠ accusative after a preposition

Compare: Ich kaufe den Kaffee. — den Kaffee is a direct object; accusative because of the verb.

And: Ich bezahle für den Kaffee. — für den Kaffee is a prepositional phrase; accusative because of für.

Both groups are accusative, but for different grammatical reasons. A prepositional phrase is not automatically a direct object.

15.The prepositional phrase can change position

The case does not depend on where the phrase appears in the sentence.

In both sentences für meine Mutter is accusative. Also: Durch den Park fahren viele Busse. — durch den Park is at the beginning, but it remains an accusative prepositional phrase.

Sentence position and grammatical case are separate things.

16.Do not confuse this with Wo? and Wohin?

The prepositions on this page have fixed accusative government: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um.

With prepositions such as in, auf, an, the system is different: in der Schule and in die Schule. There the case depends on the structure.

So do not build the rule «movement = always accusative» — that is too broad. A better distinction is: durch → always accusative; in / auf / an → separate two-way rule.

17.A short contrast with dative prepositions

Other common prepositions always require the dative, for example mit, bei, von, zu, aus, nach.

The difference comes from the preposition, not from the nouns Park, Freund or Mann.

18.Common mistakes

19.A useful analysis method

When you see a prepositional phrase, use this sequence:

1. Find the preposition.
2. Ask whether it belongs to a fixed-case group.
3. With durch, für, gegen, ohne, um → choose accusative.
4. Identify the noun's gender and number.
5. Form the correct article or determiner.

Example: für + der Kurs. The preposition für requires accusative; Kurs is masculine; masculine accusative: der → den → result für den Kurs.

With a possessive article: ohne + mein Bruder → masculine accusative → mein → meinen → ohne meinen Bruder.