A1 Grammar Guide

The Four German Cases

Cases show the role a noun plays in a sentence. This is what the Goethe exam tests heavily — learn the patterns, not just the table.

Article Changes by Case

Case	Question	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominativ Who / What?	Subject	der	die	das	die
Akkusativ Whom / What?	Direct object	den	die	das	die
Dativ To whom?	Indirect object	dem	der	dem	den
Genitiv Whose?	Possession	des	der	des	der

Real Sentences — Each Case in Action

Der Mann arbeitet. (NOM)

The man works. → der Mann is the subject (Nominativ)

Amina kauft den Bus. (AKK)

Amina buys the bus. → den Bus is the direct object (Akkusativ) — masc. changes!

Minh gibt dem Kind ein Buch. (DAT)

Minh gives the child a book. → dem Kind is the indirect object (Dativ)

Das ist das Haus des Mannes. (GEN)

This is the man's house. → des Mannes shows possession (Genitiv)

💡 Only masculine changes in Akkusativ: der → den. This is the #1 Goethe exam trap. Feminine, neuter and plural stay the same from Nominativ to Akkusativ.

✏️ Quick Check

Amina kauft ___ Bus. (der Bus — Akkusativ)

📚 This topic is part of Module 5 (Akkusativ) and Module 6 (Dativ) — pieces of DeutschWeg's complete A1 German course, free forever. Sign up to track your progress and unlock practice exercises for every topic.

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