Which German preposition takes accusative, dative, or genitive, plus the two-way prepositions and the Wohin/Wo rule, with tables and traps for A2 to B1.
In German the case is not something you guess. The preposition decides it for you. Für always drags an accusative behind it, mit always a dative, no matter what the sentence means. So the fastest way to stop losing marks on der/dem/den is not more case theory. It is knowing which group each preposition belongs to. This guide sorts the common prepositions into four groups, gives you the two-way rule that examiners test most, and shows the traps that cost A2 and B1 candidates points.
The one thing to understand first
Every German preposition governs a case. That is a fixed property of the word, like its spelling. Ohne is an accusative preposition, so ohne plus der Mann becomes ohne den Mann, every single time. You are not choosing the case from the meaning of the sentence; you are looking it up from the preposition. Learn the group a preposition belongs to and the article follows automatically. There are only four groups, and one of them (the two-way set) is the only place where meaning gets a vote.
Group 1: always accusative
These prepositions take the accusative no matter what. Many learners memorise them with the string "durch, für, gegen, ohne, um", said fast as a rhythm.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| durch | through | Wir gehen durch den Park. |
| für | for | Das Geschenk ist für meinen Bruder. |
| gegen | against | Ich habe nichts gegen diesen Plan. |
| ohne | without | Sie kam ohne ihren Mann. |
| um | around, at (time) | Wir sitzen um den Tisch. |
| bis | until, up to | Die Bibliothek ist bis nächsten Freitag geschlossen. |
| entlang | along | Wir gehen den Fluss entlang. |
Two notes save you trouble. Bis is usually followed by another preposition that then sets the case (bis zu, bis an), so you rarely meet bare bis before a noun. And entlang is unusual because it comes after the noun it governs: den Fluss entlang, not entlang den Fluss.
Group 2: always dative
This is the larger everyday set. A common memory string is "aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu". Add gegenüber and you have the ones you use daily.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| aus | from, out of | Sie kommt aus der Türkei. |
| bei | at, near, at the home of | Ich wohne bei meinen Eltern. |
| mit | with, by (transport) | Wir fahren mit dem Bus. |
| nach | to (places), after | Nach dem Essen gehen wir spazieren. |
| seit | since, for (time) | Ich lerne seit einem Jahr Deutsch. |
| von | from, of, by | Das ist das Auto von meiner Schwester. |
| zu | to (people, places) | Ich gehe zu dem Arzt. |
| gegenüber | opposite, across from | Die Bank liegt gegenüber dem Bahnhof. |
Because these appear constantly, their dative forms become reflex fast. Mit dem, bei der, zu den: say them enough and the wrong article will start to sound wrong, which is exactly the instinct you want in the exam.
Group 3: the two-way prepositions (this is what gets tested)
Nine prepositions can take either the accusative or the dative, and here the meaning finally decides. These are the Wechselpräpositionen: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen. They all describe position or direction, and the case turns on one question.
- Wohin? (where to, movement across a border) takes the accusative.
- Wo? (where, position, no change of place) takes the dative.
Look at the same preposition switching case with the meaning:
| Movement (Wohin? Akkusativ) | Position (Wo? Dativ) |
|---|---|
| Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. | Das Bild hängt an der Wand. |
| Er legt das Buch auf den Tisch. | Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. |
| Sie geht in die Küche. | Sie ist in der Küche. |
| Stell den Stuhl zwischen die Tische. | Der Stuhl steht zwischen den Tischen. |
A reliable test: if the verb is one of stellen, legen, setzen, hängen, stecken (putting something somewhere), you are almost always in the accusative, because something is moving into a new place. If the verb is stehen, liegen, sitzen, hängen, stecken (already there), you are in the dative. The trap is that hängen and stecken appear in both lists, so do not lean on the verb alone. Ask the real question: does the action cross into a new location (Wohin, accusative) or happen within one (Wo, dative)? The Wohin/Wo split is the same instinct you build when the four cases become automatic, covered in the guide to the four German cases.
Group 4: genitive prepositions
A smaller set governs the genitive. At B1 you mainly need four: wegen (because of), trotz (despite), während (during), and (an)statt (instead of). A few more appear in reading: außerhalb (outside), innerhalb (within), aufgrund (due to).
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wegen | because of | Wegen des Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause. |
| trotz | despite | Trotz des Regens spielen sie Fußball. |
| während | during | Während der Pause telefoniert sie. |
| (an)statt | instead of | Statt eines Autos kaufte er ein Fahrrad. |
One honest note about real German: in everyday speech people often use the dative after wegen and trotz (wegen dem Wetter). You will hear it constantly. For a written exam, though, write the genitive. It is the standard form examiners expect, and it signals control of a B1-level structure.
The contractions you will see everywhere
German fuses some prepositions with the article. These are not optional slang; they are the normal written forms, and using the full version (in dem Kino) often sounds wrong.
- in + dem = im, in + das = ins: im Kino, ins Kino.
- an + dem = am, an + das = ans: am Fenster, ans Meer.
- zu + dem = zum, zu + der = zur: zum Arzt, zur Schule.
- bei + dem = beim, von + dem = vom: beim Essen, vom Bahnhof.
The case is unchanged; the contraction just merges the article. Ins is still accusative (movement), im is still dative (position). Notice how im and ins quietly encode the whole two-way rule for you.
Build one phrase, step by step
Say you want "I am driving to the station with my friend." Take it preposition by preposition. Mit is Group 2, always dative, and der Freund becomes mit meinem Freund. Zu is also Group 2, dative, and der Bahnhof becomes zum Bahnhof after the contraction. Result: Ich fahre mit meinem Freund zum Bahnhof. You never once asked what the sentence "means" for the case; you looked up the group and applied it. That is the whole skill.
The mistakes that cost the most marks
- Dative after an accusative preposition. für meinem Bruder is wrong. Für is Group 1, so it is für meinen Bruder.
- Wrong two-way case with a movement verb. Ich gehe in der Küche means you are strolling around inside it. To say you enter, it is Wohin, accusative: Ich gehe in die Küche.
- Nach vs zu for places. Use nach with cities and countries without an article (nach Berlin), and zu with people and specific points (zum Arzt). Both are dative, so only the choice of word is the issue.
- Dropping the genitive in writing. wegen dem Stau is fine when speaking but marked down in a written task; write wegen des Staus.
Every one of these comes from choosing the case by feel instead of by group. Sort the preposition first, then the article is not a decision at all. For the full set of exam grammar, see the German grammar guides, and once the case is settled the ending on any adjective that follows falls out of the adjective endings guide. Prepositions reward drilling more than reading, so run short timed sets in the free grammar tools below until the groups are reflex.
Frequently asked questions
Use the rhythm strings. "durch, für, gegen, ohne, um" for the accusative set, and "aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu" for the dative set. Say each out loud a few times a day until the list runs on its own. Those two strings cover the great majority of prepositions you meet at A2 and B1.
Wohin asks where to and signals movement into a new place, which takes the accusative: Ich gehe in die Stadt. Wo asks where and signals a fixed position, which takes the dative: Ich bin in der Stadt. This only matters for the nine two-way prepositions; the other groups have a fixed case regardless.
In spoken German it is extremely common and no one will misunderstand you. In a written exam it is safer to write the genitive (wegen des Wetters), because that is the standard form and shows you can handle a genitive preposition, which is a B1 target structure.
Because in is a two-way preposition. In die Küche (accusative) means moving into the kitchen; in der Küche (dative) means being inside it. The verb usually signals which: gehen and stellen point to movement, sein and stehen to position.
Yes, at least the common four (wegen, trotz, während, statt). They appear in reading texts and are worth using in writing to lift your register. You do not need the rarer ones like außerhalb actively, but recognising them helps in the Lesen section. See the B1 requirement detail for what the level expects overall.
