What is a Preposition?
A preposition is a word that connects a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence. Prepositions give more information about something, such as position, direction, time or manner.
Preposition of position: He is sitting in his car. Er sitzt in seinem Auto.
Preposition of direction: They are coming up to Charleston. Sie kommen nach Charleston
Preposition of time: We are going to leave Charleston on April 28. Wir verlassen am 28. AprilCharleston.
Preposition of manner:
She flew home with her brother.
Sie ist mit ihrem Bruder nach Hause geflogen.
The noun or pronoun that the preposition connects to the sentence is called the Object of the Preposition.
He is sitting in his car. Car is the object of the preposition "in".
What is the difference between German and English use of Prepositions?
In both English and German, prepositions do not change form ever.
In German, prepositions are organized according to the case that follows them.
Some prepositions are always followed by the
Accusative Case:
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Example |
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Er geht heute durch die Stadt. |
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Ist das Geschenk für mich? |
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Bist du mit uns oder gegen uns? |
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Sie ist ohne ihren Mann zu der Party gekommen. |
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Der Hund läuft um den Tisch. |
For practice exercises, click here.
Some prepositions always take the Dative case:
And some prepositions take either the Dative or
the Accusative, depending upon the main verb int he sentence.
| an | in | unter |
| auf | neben | vor |
| hinter | über | zwischen |
For more on these prepositions, click here.
For practice exercises, click here.
Some Prepositions in German are followed by the Dative Case. In
Kapitel 5, these prepositions refer to locations where people work.
Kontakte offers you some general rules of thumb for learning
the uses of the various prepositions:
IN + enclosed spaces
(in, within, inside)
in dem Supermarkt
in der Kirche
in der Stadt
in der Schule
in dem Krankenhaus
in der Autowerkstatt
in dem Kaufhaus
in der Gaststätte
in dem Schwimmbad
in der Bäckerei
in der Bibliothek
in dem Restaurant
in der Küche
in dem Kühlschrank
in der Schublade
AN + at a border, limiting
area
(at, on)
physically: at a vertical surfacae
an dem Fenster
an der Kasse
an der Tafel
an der Tankstelle
am Schrank
am Computer
AUF + surfaces (horizontal)
(on top of, on)
+ public buildings
(at)
note: this classification can be confusing, as "public" is
a murky concept--best bet: learn these expressions cold!
auf der Bank
auf der Universität
auf der Post
auf dem Gericht
auf der Polizei
auf dem Bahnhof
ÜBER
(above)
UNTER
(below, under)
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ABBREVIATIONS:
only the following contractions
are possible with these prepositions
an + dem ==> am
in + dem ==> im
In every language, prepositions
are among the most idiomatic aspects--
this means that their use must
often be memorized, as they are not necessarily "logical."