German Accusative Case Explained: The Complete Guide

1. What Is the Accusative Case?

The accusative case (der Akkusativ) is one of the four grammatical cases in German. It commonly marks the direct object of a sentence, but it is also required by certain prepositions and constructions. A direct object is often the person or thing that the action is directed at.

Consider this sentence:

• Ich = I (the person performing the action)
• kaufe = buy (the action)
• einen Apfel = an apple (the thing being bought)

The apple is the direct object. It is the thing being bought, so it appears in the accusative case.

More simple examples

2. Understanding the Four German Cases

German has four cases. The labels below describe their common roles; a case is ultimately determined by the grammatical construction, verb, or preposition.

Compare the cases in one sentence

Der Vater gibt dem Sohn den Schlüssel.

The father gives the son the key.

This is an important structure to recognize:

To compare the cases, explore the German learning resources at Fortgang Institut. Add a link here to your dedicated dative-case guide when its final URL is confirmed.

3. How to Identify the Accusative Object

For many direct objects, a useful diagnostic is to ask:

Example 1: A person

Ich besuche meinen Bruder.

I visit my brother.

Ask:

• Wer besucht? — Who visits? Ich
• Wen besuche ich? — Whom do I visit? Meinen Bruder

Example 2: A thing

Sie kauft eine Tasche.

She buys a bag.

Ask:

• Wer kauft? — Who buys? Sie
• Was kauft sie? — What does she buy? Eine Tasche

Example 3: A pronoun

Ich kenne ihn.

I know him.

Ask:

• Wer kennt? — Who knows? Ich
• Wen kenne ich? — Whom do I know? Ihn

4. Accusative Articles: The Complete Table

This is one of the most useful tables for beginners. In the basic article patterns, the masculine forms change in the accusative: der → den and ein → einen. Feminine, neuter, and plural forms remain unchanged in these tables.

Definite articles: der, die, das

Indefinite articles: ein, eine

Indefinite articles mean “a” or “an.” Their accusative forms follow the same pattern: only the masculine form changes.

There is no indefinite article in the plural. For example:

• Ich kaufe Bücher. — I buy books.
• Ich kaufe keine Bücher. — I buy no books.

Negation: kein

Kein means “no” or “not a.” It follows the same pattern as ein.

Ich habe keinen Bruder.

I do not have a brother.

Wir kaufen keine Milch.

We are not buying any milk.

Quick comparison

5. Personal Pronouns in the Accusative

Personal pronouns replace nouns. Instead of repeating a name or noun, we can use a pronoun such as him, her, or them.

In German, personal pronouns also change according to their grammatical case.

Examples in sentences

Replacing nouns with pronouns

Look at this example:

Ich sehe den Lehrer. Ich sehe ihn.

I see the teacher. I see him.

The noun phrase den Lehrer is masculine accusative. When we replace it with a personal pronoun, we use ihn.

Another example:

Sie kauft die Tasche. Sie kauft sie.

She buys the bag. She buys it.

6. Possessive Words in the Accusative

Possessive words tell us who something belongs to:

• mein — my
• dein — your
• sein — his / its
• ihr — her / their
• unser — our
• euer — your (plural)
• Ihr — your (formal)

They change according to the gender, number, and case of the noun they accompany.

Possessive forms in the accusative

Examples

• Ich besuche meinen Vater.
  I visit my father.
• Du suchst deine Schlüssel.
  You are looking for your keys.
• Er liebt seine Frau.
  He loves his wife.
• Wir verkaufen unser Auto.
  We are selling our car.
• Sie besucht ihre Freunde.
  She visits her friends.

7. Adjective Endings in the Accusative

When an adjective comes before a noun, it may also need an ending. This is called adjective declension.

For example:

• der alte Mann — the old man (nominative)
• Ich sehe den alten Mann. — I see the old man (accusative)

The adjective alt becomes alten because it is used with a masculine accusative noun preceded by the definite article den.

Accusative adjective endings with definite articles

Accusative adjective endings with indefinite articles

More examples

• Ich kaufe einen neuen Computer.
  I buy a new computer.
• Sie trägt das schwarze Kleid.
  She is wearing the black dress.
• Wir besuchen eine interessante Ausstellung.
  We visit an interesting exhibition.
• Er liest ein spannendes Buch.
  He reads an exciting book.

Scope note: These are the most useful beginner patterns, not a complete adjective-declension reference. For A1 learners, first master article changes and these common adjective endings; then study adjective declension across all cases.

8. Verbs That Take the Accusative

Many common German verbs are used with an accusative object. This means that the person or thing directly affected by the verb appears in the accusative case.

Some very common accusative verbs include:

How to learn accusative verbs

Do not memorize only the English meaning of a verb. Learn it together with a short example sentence.

9. Sentences with Two Objects

Some German verbs can take two objects: a dative object and an accusative object.

For example:

Ich gebe dem Kind einen Apfel.

I give the child an apple.

• Wer gibt? — Ich (Nominativ)
• Wem gebe ich einen Apfel? — dem Kind (Dativ)
• Was gebe ich dem Kind? — einen Apfel (Akkusativ)

Common verbs with two objects

When both objects are full noun phrases, the dative object often comes before the accusative object. Word order can change for emphasis or information structure, so this is a common pattern—not an absolute rule.

When a pronoun is used

Pronouns often appear before noun phrases:

• Ich gebe ihm das Buch. — I give him the book.
• Ich gebe es meinem Bruder. — I give it to my brother.
• Ich gebe es ihm. — I give it to him.

10. The Accusative with Es gibt

The expression es gibt means “there is” or “there are.” It is always followed by an accusative object.

Notice the masculine accusative:

ein Supermarkt → einen Supermarkt

More examples

• Es gibt einen Park in der Stadt.
  There is a park in the city.
• Es gibt eine neue Schule.
  There is a new school.
• Es gibt ein Problem.
  There is a problem.
• Es gibt viele Restaurants.
  There are many restaurants.
• In meiner Stadt gibt es einen Bahnhof.
  There is a train station in my city.

11. Accusative Prepositions

Prepositions are words that express relationships such as direction, purpose, movement, or position. In German, some prepositions always require the accusative case.

The five core accusative prepositions taught at beginner level are:

Examples with masculine nouns

Examples with all genders

• Wir fahren durch die Stadt.
  We drive through the city.
• Das ist für das Kind.
  That is for the child.
• Sie spielt gegen ihre Schwester.
  She plays against her sister.
• Ich trinke Kaffee ohne Zucker.
  I drink coffee without sugar.
• Die Kinder laufen um das Haus.
  The children run around the house.

Time expressions with accusative prepositions

Some accusative prepositions are also used to express time.

• Der Unterricht beginnt um acht Uhr.
  The lesson begins at eight o'clock.
• Ich bin gegen sechs Uhr zu Hause.
  I am home around six o'clock.
• Wir bleiben für eine Woche in Berlin.
  We are staying in Berlin for one week.

12. Accusative with Two-Way Prepositions

Some German prepositions can take either the accusative or the dative case. These are called two-way prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen).

The common two-way prepositions are:

These prepositions use:

• Accusative when expressing a destination or change of location: Wohin? — Where to?
• Dative when expressing a location: Wo? — Where?

Compare the two cases

More examples

• Ich stelle die Lampe neben das Bett.
  I place the lamp next to the bed.
• Die Lampe steht neben dem Bett.
  The lamp is standing next to the bed.
• Der Hund läuft unter den Tisch.
  The dog runs under the table.
• Der Hund liegt unter dem Tisch.
  The dog is lying under the table.

For more practice with the difference between location and destination, connect this section to your German dative-prepositions article.

13. Accusative and German Word Order

German word order is flexible, but it follows grammatical and information-structure principles. The accusative object does not always have to come directly after the verb.

In a simple main clause, the conjugated verb usually occupies the second position.

Ich kaufe heute einen Computer.

I am buying a computer today.

You can also put the time expression first:

Heute kaufe ich einen Computer.

Today I am buying a computer.

The verb remains in the second position. The subject moves behind the verb when another element occupies the first position.

Accusative object at the beginning

The accusative object can also appear at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis or contrast.

Den Computer kaufe ich heute.

The computer is what I am buying today.

This is still grammatically correct. The article den shows that Computer is masculine accusative.

14. Negation: Nicht or Kein?

German uses nicht and kein to express negation, but they are used in different ways.

Kein

Use kein to negate a noun phrase that uses an indefinite article or has no article.

• Ich habe einen Hund. — I have a dog.
• Ich habe keinen Hund. — I do not have a dog.
• Sie kauft eine Tasche. — She buys a bag.
• Sie kauft keine Tasche. — She does not buy a bag.

Nicht

Use nicht to negate a verb, adjective, adverb, or a noun phrase with a definite article, depending on the sentence.

• Ich kaufe den Computer nicht.
  I am not buying the computer.
• Ich kenne den Mann nicht.
  I do not know the man.
• Sie ist nicht müde.
  She is not tired.

15. Common Accusative Mistakes

Mistake 1: Forgetting the masculine article change

Ich sehe der Mann.

Ich sehe den Mann.

Mann is masculine, and it is the direct object of sehen.

Mistake 2: Using ein instead of einen

Ich kaufe ein Computer.

Ich kaufe einen Computer.

Computer is masculine. The accusative indefinite article is einen.

Mistake 3: Using nominative pronouns as objects

Ich kenne er.

Ich kenne ihn.

The pronoun is the object of kennen, so use ihn.

Mistake 4: Using the accusative after every verb

Ich helfe den Mann.

Ich helfe dem Mann.

Helfen requires the dative case. Learn the case together with the verb.

Mistake 5: Using nominative after es gibt

Es gibt ein Park.

Es gibt einen Park.

Es gibt requires the accusative.

Mistake 6: Confusing destination and location

Ich gehe in dem Park. (when intending “I go into the park”)

Ich gehe in den Park.

For a destination, use the accusative with a two-way preposition. For location, use the dative:

• Ich gehe in den Park. — I go into the park.
• Ich bin im Park. — I am in the park.

16. Accusative vs. Nominative vs. Dative

Let's compare all three cases in a few examples.

One noun, three cases

17. Exercises: Test Your Accusative Knowledge

Now it's time to practise. Try to complete the exercises without looking at the explanations above.

18. Answer Key

Check your answers after completing the exercises.

19. Frequently Asked Questions