Prepositions in German have the same meaning as in Russian. They help unite words or phrases into a single semantic unit, that is, into a sentence. Prepositions in German are usually placed before the object to which they are directly related.
Classification
The use of prepositions in relation to cases
It is interesting that some prepositions have one of the existing cases in without fail constant. The second one can be found only in some cases. It's better to show everything good example. Let's say this sentence: Trotz dem Schneefall (Dativ) wollte Mark mit dem Auto in die Berge fahren. It translates as follows: "Despite the snowfall, Mark wanted to go by car to the mountains." This sentence clearly shows the use of the dative case. And this, it must be said, is quite rare in German, or rather, in colloquial speech. What can be said about other cases? for example, it is used in rare cases of control with the preposition des (“in”), in sentences where this occurs, des comes after the noun.
Nominativ and Akkusativ
There are also such prepositions with which it is not necessary to use objects in any strictly defined case. To be more specific, these are als and wie. The nouns that come after these prepositions are declined in the same way as the members of the sentence that correspond to them. This can be seen in the following example: Mario kannte ihren Schwester als Schüler (this is Nominativ). This sentence is translated as follows: “Mario knew her sister as a schoolgirl.” In another way, using Akkusativ, the phrase can be constructed as follows: Mario kannte ihren schwester als Schüler. It translates almost the same: "Mario knew her sister, even when she was a schoolgirl." Both examples are directly related to each other. But in the first case, the subject is correlated with the noun after als” (accordingly, Nominativ should be used), but in the second, Akkusativ is used, since there is an addition. In general, the prepositions of control in German are not difficult, the main thing here is to learn the purpose of the cases and the translation of the words themselves.
Universal application of prepositions
This is a rather interesting topic, and you should also know it in order to be able to correctly express your thoughts. If you want, for example, to say: “I'm going to Germany,” then it would be correct to use nach here. This preposition indicates a direction, and in this case the sentence would look like this: Ich fahre nach Deutschland. By the way, nach is used in relation to countries that do not have. These are neuter states, such as Russia, Italy, Germany, France, etc. This preposition is also used if you need to answer the question of what time it is now . For example: zwanzig Minuten nach fünf (twenty past five). Only in this case the preposition is translated as “after” (if literally). I would also like to pay special attention to the frequently encountered Für. Usually used in relation to someone. Für dich, Für mich, Für alle da (for you, for me, for everyone), etc. That is, it indicates the purpose, purpose, addressee. But often this preposition is used as a substitute for the meaning "for someone." For example: Sie hat schon für mich bezahlt (she already paid for me).
What are the suggestions
Finally, I would like to list all the existing prepositions in the German language. The table in which they are most often presented is not very large, and remembering everything is much easier than it seems. People who study this language memorize them by comparison. An - translates as "above" or "on", depending on the use of the case. Auf locates a person, object, or even phenomenon: Alles was auf der Bühnepassiert, ist Wahnsinn (translation: “Everything that happens on the stage is madness”). Hinter is a translation of our preposition “for”, and the German in is the absolute analogue of the same word in English. That is, it is translated as “in”: Ich bin jetzt in der Kneipe (translation: “I am in the pub now”). There are also prepositions über (through, over) and vor (before, before, before).
As a matter of fact, these and the previously listed prepositions are the most used and frequently encountered in the German language. This topic is not as difficult as, for example, the use of verbs. Prepositions in German have the same meaning and translation as in Russian, and this determines the relative ease of mastering them. And if you practice using them, then very soon the result will be visible, and the person will no longer hesitate to competently build a sentence.
Prepositions refer to the service parts of speech, the task of which is to link words in a sentence by controlling these words. Prepositions can have the most different meanings, which can, in particular, have a temporal and spatial coloring. Based on this, such prepositions designate time and place and, connecting with controlled words, answer the questions “when? – wann?”, “Where? – wo?”, “Where? — wohin?”, “Where from? – woher? and others.
Prepositions of place and time in German represent two large groups, along with the third, which includes prepositions whose semantics contain abstract connections.
Prepositions of place in German
Preposition Management |
Where? — Wohin? |
Where? — Wo? |
Where? — Woher? |
Akkusative (accusativecase -Akk.) |
before - bis, through, through - durch, against - gegen, around, around - um | along — an … entlang, around, around - um, um … herum |
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Dative (dativecase– D.) |
(in direction) to — nach, (in the direction) to - zu | from — ab, near, at, at, near, - bei, against gegenü
ber(can be before and after the controlled word), from - von … aus |
from - aus, from — von |
Genitiv (genitive case -G.) |
outside, outside ausserhalb, inside, in — innerhalb | ||
Prepositions with different administration |
on, at (vertical surface), about — an, on (horizontal surface) — auf, behind, behind, behind — hinter, along - entlang(can be before and after the controlled word), inside, in - in, next to, near, near - neben, above, above - ü ber, below, under - unter, in front, in front - vor, between - zwischen |
Prepositions with different controls can be distinguished by asking questions to the corresponding phrases: to the question “where? – wo? will answer the dative (Dativ), and the question “where? - wohin? – accusative (Akkusativ) case. For example:
- Du must richtig andeinemTisch sitzen! You must sit properly at your table! (Here the circumstance answers the question "where? - wo?", and, accordingly, Dativ is used).
- Setz dich an den Tisch und iss dein Abendbrot in Ruhe! “Sit down at the table and eat your dinner in peace!” (In this case, the circumstance answers the question "where? - wohin?", and, accordingly, Akkusativ is used).
The preposition "opposite - gegenüber" always comes after the pronoun, and when used with a noun, it can either precede it or follow it. For example:
- Gegenüber unserem Buro hat man eine moderne Schwimmhalle gebaut. = Unserem Buro gegenüber hat man eine moderne Schwimmhalle gebaut. – A modern swimming pool was built in front of our office.
- Ihm gegenüber ist ein schöner Wald. Opposite it is a beautiful forest.
The preposition "along - entlang" is quite special: perhaps this is the only German preposition that has not double, but triple control (Genitiv - Dativ - Akkusativ), for example:
- Sie ging schnell den Fluss entlang(Ack.). She walked quickly along the river bank.
- Diese Eisenbahn geht entlang dem Tunnel(D.). – This Railway was laid along the tunnel.
- Diese Eisenbahn geht entlang des Tunnels(G.). - This railway was laid along the tunnel.
Prepositions of place in German, using which you can answer the question “where? -wohin?»
Preposition of place + management | |
before -bis (Akkusative) | In the meaning of this preposition lies the achievement of the final destination ("how far? - bis wohin?"). If the word that this final point denotes is used with an article, then another preposition indicating the case is added to "bis", for example:
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through -durch (Akkusativ) | The meaning of this preposition is to advance through something (“through what? - wodurch?”). For example:
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along– entlang (Genitiv, Dativ, Akkusativ) | This preposition conveys movement parallel to something and generally corresponds to the verb "to follow - folgen". In Genitiv, this preposition comes before the controlled word, and in Dativ and Akkusativ, after the word to which it refers, for example:
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against, with, on, about -gegen (Accusative) | This preposition conveys a movement that ends with some kind of contact with something (“with what? to what? etc. -wogegen?”), For example:
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around -um(Akkusative) | This preposition conveys a circular motion, in other words, a movement around something (“around what? - worum?”). For example:
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in -nach | When using this preposition, an indication is given of a change in location (“where? - wohin?”). The names of countries, continents, parts of the world and cities are used without the article, and when indicating the direction, adverbs are used. For example:
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to -zu | This preposition is used when changing the location of people, to indicate a goal, a place and its data. Nouns are used with articles. For example:
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to, on -an
(Accusative) |
This preposition is used when it comes to trips to all kinds of water bodies and to moving / finding something directly to any vertical surface, for example:
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on the -auf (Akkusative) | This preposition is used to indicate public institutions and events, regions and islands where someone is going. For example:
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in -in (Accusative) | This preposition is used to indicate regular visits to some places or a trip for a long time to any buildings, organizations, institutions, trips to regions, countries (with articles) to the mountains, as well as to indicate moving to a closed room or to any street. For example:
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Prepositions of place in German, using which you can answer the question “where? -wo?»
Preposition of place + management |
Meaning and features of use |
along– an… entlang (Dativ) | The meaning of this preposition is an indication of the location of something or someone along something. For example:
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around– um, um… herum (Akkusativ) | This preposition contains an indication of something that is or happens around something, for example:
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from, from -ab (dative) | This preposition contains an indication of the starting point, for example:
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at, at, at, on -bei
(Dative) |
This preposition is used when it is necessary to indicate the location of a person or object near something, for some people, for work in a company. For example:
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against -gegnüber (Dativ) | This preposition can be placed before or after the name. When used with pronouns, it always comes after them. For example:
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With, from, from— von… aus (Dativ) | This preposition answers the question where? – von wo aus? and points to the beginning, starting point. For example:
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outside, beyond, beyond, beyondausserhalb (Dative) | This preposition indicates that something is outside a closed space. For example:
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within, within, withininnerhalb (Dative | This preposition indicates that something is in a closed space or within any framework. For example:
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at, near, at, on -an (Dative) | This preposition is used in cases when it comes to staying on various bodies of water or when indicating being near a vertical surface. For example:
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on the -auf (Dative) | This preposition is used to indicate a location in public institutions, at events, in regions and on islands. For example:
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in -in (dative) | This preposition is used to indicate a regular or long-term stay in any places, buildings, organizations, institutions, regions, countries (with articles) in the mountains, as well as to indicate being indoors or on a street. For example:
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Prepositions of place in German, using which you can answer the question where from? -woher?
Preposition of place + management |
Meaning and features of use |
from -aus | This preposition is used in such cases when the question “where? – wo? can be answered using the preposition "in". This preposition denotes origin or movement from a place. For example:
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from -von | This preposition is used in such cases when the question “where? – wo? can be answered using the preposition "an, bei, auf, zu". This preposition indicates the starting spatial point of any movement. For example:
This preposition can be used to replace "aus" in cases where the speaker wants to emphasize not the place, but the starting point, for example:
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German prepositions (prev.), as well as Russian ones, and prev. in other languages, refer to the official parts of speech. Despite this, it is from before. depends on which case (pad.) of the noun to use.
There are several classifications of German prepositions, for example, according to the meaning (, time, reason, etc.) or according to the cases with which they are used. This is the approach we recommend.
All prev. can be divided into several groups:
- always requiring Dative (Dat.) falling;
- requiring an accusative fall.;
- those that can be used with both Dat. and Accusative;
- those that, as a rule, are used with Genitive (Gen.) falling;
Prepositions with the Dative case
We suggest teaching them with the help of a small rhyme:
Mit, nach, aus, zu von, bei
Just give Dativ.
These prev., regardless of their value, always require Dates. fall:
Ich komme aus der Ukraine (place).
Aus diesem Grund muss ich leider auf den Deutschkurs verzichten (reason).
Ich fahre morgen mit dem Zug nach Berlin (instrument).
Ich bin seit 10 Jahren mit Karl befreundet (jointness).
Beim Spielen sieht er sehr konzentriert aus (time).
Bei der Schule gibt es einen schönen Spielplatz (place).
This also includes pre. seit and gegenüber, entgegen, entsprechend and less commonly used fern, getreu, mitsamt, nahe, zuliebe.
Previous nach, gegenüber, entsprechend, getreu and entgegen can come after a noun:
Meiner Meinung nach ist Aishwarya Rai die schönste Schauspielerin der Welt.
Unser Haus steht dem Krankenhaus gegenüber.
Seinen Gewohnheiten getreu hat er sich zum Vorstellungsgespräch verspätet.
Meinem Rat entgegen studiert sie Philosophie.
Er hat sich dem Maskenball entsprechend verkleidet.
Prepositions with accusative case
To this group before. relate: gegen, für, durch, wider, um, ohne, bis, je, kontra (contra), betreffend, via. At the same time, it doesn’t matter what meaning they have in the sentence, but they always require the Accusative Fall next to them ..
Die Demonstranten protestieren gegen die Atomkernenergie.
Aus Zorn schlug er mit der Bein gegen die Wand.
Er hat sein Auto gegen 3000 € verkauft.
Ich bin gestern gegen 10 Uhr aufgestanden.
Previous betreffend can also be in postposition:
Diese Frage betreffend habe ich nichts Neues zu sagen.
Prepositions with accusative and dative cases
This group includes primarily places: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen. Date pad. is used to express a place (the question is where?), and the Accusative is used to express the direction (the question is where?).
Die Brille liegt auf dem Tisch. - Wo liegt die Brille? — Dative
Ich habe meine Brille auf den Tisch gelegt. – Wohin habe ich meine Brille gelegt? - Accusative.
Ich war gestern nicht in der Schule. – wo war ich nothing? – Dative.
Ich gehe heute nicht in die Schule. – wohin gehen ich nicht? - Accusative.
Previous an, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen can also be used with adverbs of time. In this case, they are used from Date. fall:
Unter der Woche habe ich keine Zeit für die Hausarbeit. — Wann? – Dative.
Im Sommer ist es sehr schön in der Krim.
Ich habe ihn vor drei Jahren kennengelernt.
With two pads. used before. entlang. However, it always has a spatial meaning (along, parallel to the street, river, terrace, etc.). Pad. the noun in this case depends on the position of the previous one itself: if it precedes the noun, then it requires Date. pad., if it stands after it - Accusative:
Entlang dem Fluss gibt es einen Fahrradweg. — Dative
Den Fluss entlang gibt es einen Fahrradweg. – Accusative.
Prepositions with Genitive
This is the most numerous and the most “problematic” group, since a change in the language norm is currently taking place, and the previous ones, which until recently required Genus next to them. pad., can be used with the Dative.
So, with Rod. pad. used before: außerhalb, innerhalb, während, abseits, jenseits, diesseits, inmitten, oberhalb, unterhalb, unweit, angesichts, anlässlich, aufgrund, bezüglich, dank, hinsichtlich, infolge, mangels, trotz, um…willen, wegen, zwecks, laut, anhand, anstatt, laut, mithilfe, mittels.
The whole problem in studying these pre. is that they can also be used with Dat. (usually with plural nouns that do not have an article or adjective, since the Genitive pad. form is not obvious in this case). These same pre. can be used together with the previous von and Dative case:
Während dieser Woche (pronoun indicates Gen. case)
Während 10 Tagen (ending n in a noun indicates Dat. fall.).
Mithilfe meiner Eltern (the pronoun indicates the Rod. fall.).
Mithilfe von Peters Eltern (we can't determine the noun from the noun, so we use von + Dativ).
Innerhalb eines Jahres (Gen. case is indicated by the article and the ending of the noun)
Innerhalb 2 Monaten/ von 2 Monaten(in Rod. pad. it would have to be innerhalb 2 Monate, but this form does not contain markers that clearly express Genitive, so 2 options for Dates are used. case).
Trotz unserer Unterstützung verlor die Mannschaft das Spiel (Gen. dep. expresses a pronoun).
Trotz Beweisen wurde Verdächtige freigesprochen (in Rod. Pad., trotz Beweise would be correct, but due to lack of markers, Date. Pad. is used).
Studying the German prev., It is necessary to dwell on the following aspect. Some pre. always merge with the definite article:
Ich sitze am Tisch.
Ich gehe ins Theatre.
Beim Putzen höre ich immer Musik.
Exception! If the noun with which the prev is used is attached subordinate clause, then prev. do not merge with the article:
Ich sitze an dem Tisch, den mein Opa selbst gemacht hat.
Ich gehe in das Theatre, in dem mein Freund heute Hamlet spielt.
Exercises for German prepositions
This lesson covers the following topics: Prepositions in expressions for time and place, demonstrative pronouns. This course is designed to help you learn grammar and vocabulary. Try to concentrate on the following examples as they are very important for learning the language.
Prepositions
Grammar Tips:
Prepositions in expressions for time and place, demonstrative pronouns are very important to study because they are used in everyday communication. Try to memorize the available new words. Try also to write down words that you do not understand or expressions that you are not familiar with.
The following table shows some examples, please read them carefully and see if you can understand them.
You are done with the first table. Did you notice any grammatical patterns? Try to use the same words in different sentences.
Prepositions - Expressions
The following table will help you understand this topic in more depth. It is important to memorize any new words you come across because you will need them later.
Prepositions | Prepositions |
---|---|
about | uber |
above | oben |
through | uber |
after | nach |
against | gegen |
between | unter |
near | um |
how | wie |
in | bei |
before | vor |
per | hinter |
below | unten |
under | unter |
Near | neben |
between | zwischen |
outside | daruber hinaus |
but | aber |
on | durch |
in spite of | trotz |
way down | nach unten |
during | wahrend |
with the exception of | ausgenommen |
for | fur |
from | von |
in | in |
inside | Innen |
in | in |
near | in der Nahe von |
next | nachste |
from | von |
on | auf |
against | gegenüber |
from | heraus |
outside | ausserhalb |
per | uber |
in | pro |
a plus | plus |
round | um |
With | seat |
how | als |
through | durch |
before | bis |
to | zu |
to | gegen |
under | unter |
Unlike | im Gegensatz zu |
before | bis |
up | hinauf |
through | durch |
With | mit |
in | innerhalb |
without | Ohne |
2 words | zwei Worter |
in accordance with | gemäss |
due to | Wegen |
close to | nahe an |
due to | durch |
with the exception of | bis auf |
far from | weit entfernt |
inside | innerhalb |
instead of | statt |
Near | in der Nahe von |
Near | neben |
outside | ausserhalb von |
before | vor |
3 words | drei Worter |
how much | soweit |
as well as | sowie |
in addition to | zusatzlich zu |
before | vor |
in spite of | trotz |
on behalf of | im Namen von |
at the top | oben auf |
demonstrative prepositions | demonstrative Prapositionen |
this is | dieses |
what | jenes |
these | dieses |
those | Jene |
We hope this lesson helped you with grammar and vocabulary.
Prepositions in German, as in Russian, as a rule, very polysemantic. Wed- translation of German prepositions über, in:
uber
above – Das Bild hängt uber der Tafel.
oh, oh - Er erzählt uber sein Studentenleben.
in
in - In unserer Gruppe gibt es viele Sportier.
through (about future) – In 5 Jahren komme ich zurück.
on the - In der Deutschstunde sprechen wir Deutsch.
for, during In 20 Tagen soll man 5 Prüfungen ablegen.
Russian prepositions have almost no exact matches among German prepositions and vice versa. We can name only the main correspondences according to the main, most commonly used meanings.
a) Translation German prepositions, the most common polysemantic,:
an
on the (vertical surfaces)– Die Karte hangt an der Wand.
at (close, near)– Er sitt am Tisch.
in - Am Sonntag fahre ich nach Hause.
does not translate (time interval) – Am Abendlese ich gern.
auf
on the (horizontal surfaces)– Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.
before (before number)– Die Milchproduktion steigt auf 5000l.
durch
thanks to, through, through Durch bessere Technologie erhöht man die Arbeitsproduktivität.
on (space bounded on the sides)– Wirgehen durch die Strabe.
fur
for - Fur mich gibt es hier viel Interessantes.
per - Fur seine gute Arbeit bekam er einen Orden.
in
in (inside)– Wir wohnen im studentenheim.
through (length of time in the future) – In 5 Jahren werde ich Agronom.
on (academic discipline)– Bald haben wir ein Seminar in Botanik.
mit
With (jointly)– Ich gehe ins Kino mit meinen Freunden.
on the (means of transport)– Erfahrt mit dem Schnellzug.
does not translate (tool)– Ich schreibe mit dem Blaistift.
nach
after - Nach dem Unterricht gehen wir oft spazieren.
through (length of time in the past) – Nach 2 Jahren kam er zurück.
in (direction of travel)– Ich fahre bald nach Saratow.
on (according to, according to) – Nach seinem Diplom ist er Gärtner.
uber
above – Die Karte hängt uber dem Tisch.
about, about – Er erzählt uber sein Studentenleben.
um
around - um unsere Hochschule liegt ein alter Park.
in (when indicating time) – um 2 Uhr ist die Stunde zu Ende.
on the (with difference in quantity)– Wir produzieren jetzt um 20% mehr Traktoren.
unter
under – Die Felder liegen unter der Schneedecke.
among (with plural animate them. noun) – unter Student en gibt es viele Sportler.
von
from – Ich weiβ das von meinem Freund.
oh, oh - Wir sprechen von einem neuen Film.
from (with plural) – Von allen Boden ist die Schwarzerde am besten.
does not translate (transfers the meaning of the parent case)– Die Arbeit von Nina S. ist besonders gut.
vor
before, before vor den Prüfungen fuhr ich nach Hause.
ago - vor 300 Jahren gab es noch keinen Mikroskop.
zu
to, on (direction of travel)– Ich gehe zu meinem alten Schulfreund. Wirgehen zusammen zoom Konzert.
for (target) - Zur Verbesserung der Technologie braucht man neue Maschinen.
b) Other prepositions in German more or less unambiguous. Translation of the most common of them:
aus- from - Kommen Sie aus Moscow?
bei- at, at - Er wohnt bei seinen Freunden.
Ohne- without - Er übersetzt fast Ohne Worterbuch.
gegen- against - Wir haben nichts gegen die Excursion.
bis- before - Ich arbeite im Lesesaal bis 10 Uhr.
zwischen- between - Meine Heimatstadt liegt zwischen Kiev and Odessa.
Wegen- due to - Wegen seiner Krankheit treibt mein Bruder keinen Sport.
hinter- behind, behind - Hinter dem Lehrgebäude 12 liegt ein Park.
neben- next to, along with - Neben dem Studium interessiert er sich für Musik.
seat- With (a certain moment in the past); during - Seit 1990 lebt meine Mutter in Omsk. Seit 2 Jahren arbeite ich an diem Thema.
auβer- Besides - Auβer Petrow braucht niemand eine Consultation.
wahrend- in time - Wahrend der Prüfungen arbeiten viele im Lesesaal.
trotz- despite - Trotz des schlechten Wetters ist die Ernte gut.
gegenüber- on the contrary, in comparison with - Gegenüber 1995 hat unser Betrieb (um) dreimal mehr Maschinen.
je- from each, from each, to each - Wir haben jetzt 5000 l Milch je Kuh und Jahr.
c) Some prepositions in German can merge with the definite article into one word, for example: in + dem = im; zu + dem = zum; an + das = ans etc.
So, due to the ambiguity of most German prepositions and the frequent mismatch of their meanings with the meanings of Russian prepositions it is necessary, when used in speech, to know which German preposition is required in this case. For example, when you specify at what time the preposition um (um 3 Uhr) is used, when indicating what day- preposition an (am Sonntag), when indicating what month and season- preposition in (im Juni; im Winter).