In German, dative are always used to introduce a or in the :
The eight most important dative prepositions in German are: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, and zu. These words have a variety of uses, but they’re always followed by the dative. There are several other prepositions, though, that can be followed by the dative case in some circumstances.
In this post, we’ll quickly review how to form the dative case, then talk about when you will want to use the dative case after a preposition in German. Read on and all your questions will be answered!
How to form the dative case in German?
Before we look at dative prepositions, let’s assemble our dative case toolbox by looking at a quick review of how to put nouns and pronouns into the dative case in German. Here are the most important rules to remember:
Nouns → Singular dative nouns look just like the dictionary form, but dative plural nouns in the dative case do have a special ending: -n. Add this ending to any dative plural noun that doesn’t already end in -n.
die Kinder → den KindernTranslation: the children → to/for the childrenArticles → German definite and indefinite articles have the following dative case forms:
German articles in the dative case English Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural the
demderdemden & add -n to the noun
a / an
einemeinereinem—
Adjectives → The pattern depends on if there is an article before the adjective:
Add -en if there is an article before the adjective:
mit dem neuen FreundTranslation: with the new friendIf there is no article, add the MRMN endings to the adjective
mit frischem KäseTranslation: with fresh cheese
Personal pronouns → The dative forms are illustrated in the table below:
German personal pronouns in the dative case Singular Plural 1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person 1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person mirTranslation: to/for medirTranslation: to/for youinformalihmTranslation: to/for himihrTranslation: to/for herihmTranslation: to/for itunsTranslation: to/for useuchTranslation: to/for youinformalihnenTranslation: to/for themSieTranslation: to/for youformalIhnenTranslation: to/for youformal
What are the German dative prepositions and how to use them?
The eight dative prepositions that are commonly used in German are:
aus meaning from
außer meaning except for
bei meaning at
mit meaning with
nach meaning after
seit meaning since
von meaning of
zu meaning to
These prepositions are used a little differently from their English counterparts. Let’s get to know the most common uses of these dative prepositions.
‘Aus’
Aus expresses the origin of someone or something. Use it to:
Express being from a certain city, state, or country:
Ich komme aus der Schweiz.Translation: I am from Switzerland.Express that something (or someone) is coming out of something:
Rauch kommt aus dem Schornstein.Translation: Smoke is coming out of the chimney.
‘Außer’
Außer is exceptional! Here is how:
You can use it to express exceptions to a rule or event:
Alle Kinder außer ihm essen Kuchen.Translation: All the children except for him are eating cake.Außer is also exceptional grammatically! Though it’s usually used with the dative case, it can also be used with the genitive case, in certain phrases and idiomatic expressions:
Sie ist gestern außer Landes gegangen.Translation: She left the country yesterday.Literally: She went out of the country yesterday.idiomatic expression
‘Bei’
Bei is used to indicate long-term proximity.
Use bei in two main situations:
You are staying with someone:
Wohnst du noch bei deinen Eltern?Translation: Are you still living with your parents?You are working for a certain business:
Ich arbeite bei einer Computerfirma.Translation: I am working for a computer company.
‘Mit’
The main meaning of mit is “with.” Use it to talk about:
Going somewhere with someone:
Ich gehe mit Freunden ins Restaurant.Translation: I am going to the restaurant with friends.Making something with a certain ingredient or doing something with a specific implement:
Mit meinem Schnellkochtopf koche ich ein Gericht mit frischem Fisch.Translation: With my pressure cooker, I am cooking a dish (made) with fresh fish.Going somewhere by some kind of vehicle:
Ich werde mit dem Zug fahren.Translation: I will go by train.
‘Nach’
The main meaning of nach is “after” or “past.” Use it to express:
That something happened after or past a certain point in time:
Nach vielen Stunden bei der Arbeit kam sie um zehn nach neun zurück.Translation: After many hours at work, she returned at ten past nine.The order of occurrence:
Nach mir ist Anna dran.Translation: After mine it’s Anna’s turn.That you are going to a city, state, or country:
Fährst du bald nach Berlin?Translation: Will you go to Berlin soon?Nach is only used to mean “to” before the proper names of cities, states, or countries that do not begin with articles. In other situations, other prepositions are used:
nach Berlin meaning to Berlin
nach Bayern meaning to Bavaria
nach Österreich meaning to Austria
in die Schweiz meaning to Switzerland
in die Türkei meaning to Turkey
an die Elfenbeinküste meaning to Ivory Coast
zum Supermarkt meaning to the supermarket
ans Meer meaning to the sea
in mein Heimatland meaning to my home country
‘Seit’
Seit expresses the passing of time. Use it to say:
That time has passed since a certain event took place:
Meine Firma gibt es seit 1970.Translation: My company has existed since 1970.That something has been happening for a period of time:
Ich arbeite seit vier Jahren dort, denn ich mag diese Firma.Translation: I have been working there for four years, because I like that company.
‘Von’
Von is mainly used to express origin.
Use it in the following circumstances:
To express origin or source of something moving or being transported:
Dieses Andenken ist vom Berliner Zoo.Translation: This souvenir is from the Berlin zoo.To express ownership, or that something is a part of something else, replacing the genitive case in colloquial speech:
Das ist das Auto von meinem Vater.Translation: That's my father's car.Literally: That’s the car of my father.instead of genitive: das Auto meines Vaters meaning my father’s carDie Tür vom Auto ist kaputt.Translation: The door of the car is broken.instead of genitive: die Tür des Autos meaning the car’s door
‘Zu’
Zu is mostly used for destinations (“to”) but it’s also used in some other cases.
To express destination, similar to English “to”:
Ich gehe zur Post und dann komme ich zu dir.Translation: I will go to the post office and then I will come to you.In many common idiomatic expressions:
zu Hause meaning at home
zu Fuß meaning on foot
zum Beispiel meaning for example
zu Pferd meaning on horseback
zum Glück meaning by luck
I find the best way to remember phrases like these is to put them into little stories. You can even draw a picture, if it helps!
Zum Glück war ich zu Pferd und nicht zu Fuß, sonst wäre ich noch nicht zu Hause.Translation: By luck, I was on horseback and not on foot, otherwise I wouldn’t be (at) home yet.
What are the less common German dative prepositions?
The less common dative prepositions that are still important to know are: ab, gegenüber, and entgegen. Let’s see how and when to use them.
Ab is used to introduce a starting point in time or space. It is often used without a following article:
Ab nächster Woche fährt Bus Nr. 9 ab Marktplatz eine neue Strecke.Translation: Starting next week, bus no. 9 is taking a new route starting from the Market square.Gegenüber is used to express that something or someone is “across from” something else:
Gegenüber dem Haus war der Laden.Translation: Across from the house was the store.Gegenüber can be either a preposition or a postposition, meaning it can follow the noun or pronoun, rather than introducing it:
Dem Haus gegenüber war der Laden.Translation: Across from the house was the store.When it’s used before the noun/pronoun, it is often followed by the preposition von.
Gegenüber vom Haus war der Laden.Translation: Across from the house was the store.Entgegen is used to express that something happened “against” your wishes or “despite” someone’s opinions or advice.
Entgegen meinem ausdrücklichen Wunsch hat er das gelbe Auto gekauft.Translation: Against my expressed wishes, he bought the yellow car.Like gegenüber, entgegencan sometimes follow the noun or pronoun, though it is rather rare.
Meinem Rat entgegen hat sie den Regenschirm nicht mitgenommen.Translation: Despite my advice, she didn’t take the umbrella with her.
Which prepositions use the dative only in colloquial speech?
Several prepositions that are officially used with the genitive case join the dative case team when they are used in colloquial speech. The most important ones are während meaning during, wegen meaning because of, anstatt / statt / anstelle meaning instead of, and trotz meaning despite.
While these are still generally used with the genitive case in written language, in spoken language you’re more likely to hear the dative case.
Let’s take a closer look at each one.
‘Während’
Während means “during.” It is used with the genitive case in written language or formal speech, but colloquially, während is often used with dative case.
There are two cases where während is used with the dative case, even in formal/written language:
When während introduces plural noun that is not preceded by either an article or an adjective:
✅ während Jahren / ❌ während JahreTranslation: for yearsIf there is a genitive attribute between the preposition and its noun:
während des Professors langem VortragTranslation: during the professor’s long presentation
‘Wegen’
Wegen is used like “because of,” to give a reason for something. Like während, it is used with the genitive case in written and formal German, but colloquially, it is commonly used with dative case.
There are a couple situations where the choice of case is not optional:
Like während, wegen always occurs with the dative case before a noun with no article or adjective:
✅ wegen Mäusen / ❌ wegen MäuseTranslation: because of miceLikewise, if a genitive attribute stands between wegen and its noun, the noun must also be in the dative case:
wegen seines Zuges langem AufenthaltTranslation: because of his train’s long stopoverIt sounds very formal, but wegen can also be used after the noun. In that case, it is always used with genitive case:
Des Sonnenlichts wegen müssen wir Sonnencreme auftragen.Translation: Because of the sunlight we must apply sunscreen.Pronouns that follow wegen will be in the dative case.
Wegen dir waren wir zu spät und wegen ihm hatten wir keine Eintrittskarten!Translation: Because of you, we were late and because of him, we had no tickets!However, in formal speech, you’ll usually hear adverbs like meinetwegen meaning because of me, deinetwegen meaning because of you, and seinetwegen meaning because of him used instead of wegen + pronoun.
‘Anstatt’ / ‘statt’ / ‘anstelle’
Anstatt, statt, or anstelle can be used like “instead of” to talk about alternative choices. There is no difference in meaning between these three prepositions, and all three are used before the dative in informal language and the genitive in formal/written language.
‘Trotz’
Trotz expresses that something happened “despite” an expectation.
In most parts of Germany, trotz is more common with the genitive case, but in Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the dative case is the case of choice.
Summing up
Here’s what we found out about dative prepositions:
Dative prepositions introduce a noun or pronoun in the dative case.
The most important dative prepositions in German are: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, and zu.
A few other prepositions are also used before the dative case, but these are either less common or used before the genitive case in formal language.
Practice makes perfect! Check out these German dative prepositions activities to practice your skills.
