FAM: The German Case System - Nominative and Accusative Introduction

The German Case System - Nominative and Accusative Introduction

Nominative and accusative case definite articles

In German, besides the personal pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, es, etc.), the definite articles (der, die, das, die), indefinite articles (ein / eine / kein / keine), possessive adjectives (mein, dein, sein, etc) and adjectives are also declined (meaning they show the case). In short, you must learn the pattern of endings or declinations associated with these words, and in so doing, you will learn (more easily than in English) their grammatical function in sentences.

Let's look at a few more examples of how word order is important in English:

  • The father greets the son. (Subject = the father)

How do you know the father is the subject? Because it comes first! You use the formula who + verb = subject.

If you inverted the order and put the noun son first, then the subject would be the son.

  • The son greets the father.

Who + greets = subject (the son)

German Examples

In German, there is a case system, so the word order does not matter as much. The important thing in German is to keep the verb as the second term in a statement. Take note of the following sentences and how the verb grüßt remains the second grammatical element in each sentence, regardless of the placement of the subject or object.

  • Der Vater grüßt den Sohn.
  • Den Sohn grüßt der Vater.
  • Heute grüßt der Vater den Sohn.
  • Der Sohn grüßt den Vater.
  • Den Vater grüßt der Sohn.
  • Heute grüßt der Sohn den Vater.

As you can see there are many different ways to arrange a sentence in German. You would not be able to tell who the subject is based on the word order alone. Did you notice, however, how the noun der Sohn was changed (declined) to den Sohn and how der Vater was declined to den Vater when they became the direct object of the sentence? Let's find out more about the Nominative and Accusative cases.  

The visual aid below illustrates the basic German sentence structure we have discussed so far - just remember the nominative and accusative nouns/pronouns can change position, while the verb must remain constant, always in second position in a statement.

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