Accusative Case
How German marks the thing you have, buy, need, see, or take.
This is your first real case chapter. You have already used nouns after verbs like haben, kaufen and brauchen; now you will learn why some articles change. The accusative case marks the direct object: the person or thing that receives the action. In A1, the big change is masculine: der becomes den, ein becomes einen, and kein becomes keinen.
Accusative Case
What this chapter covers
- I can identify the direct object in a simple German sentence.
- I can use den and einen with masculine nouns in the accusative case.
- I can see that feminine, neuter, and plural articles usually stay the same in the accusative.
- I can use kein correctly with direct objects.
- I can talk about buying, needing, looking for, and taking items in a shop.
What you will practise in the app
The full chapter includes 15 interactive exercises covering these formats:
- Multiple choice questions
- Vocabulary matching
- Fill-in-the-blank sentences
- Word order tasks
- Listening comprehension
- Translation practice
- True or false statements
- Guided writing task
Vocabulary: Shopping
A small sample from this chapter's vocabulary set.
This is only a small sample. The full vocabulary set (with audio, example sentences, and grammar details) is available in the free app.
Grammar topics in this chapter
This chapter explains 5 grammar topics with plain-English explanations and structured exercises.
What the Accusative Case Does
The accusative marks the direct object: the thing affected by the verb.
The Masculine Change: der → den, ein → einen
In A1, the most important accusative change is masculine singular.
Accusative with kein
kein follows the same pattern as ein: masculine becomes keinen.
Accusative Pronouns: mich, dich, ihn
The words for me, you, him, her, it, and us as direct objects.
Prepositions That Always Take the Accusative
für, durch, ohne, um, gegen and bis: after these six words the noun is accusative, whatever the verb.
Why this matters in Germany
This chapter helps you build German you can use in everyday situations in Germany, from understanding simple sentences to handling basic conversations, messages, appointments, study, work, and daily life. Practical language learned in context is easier to remember and use when it matters.
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