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Intermediate

Prepositions & Cases

Two-way prepositions

Each preposition governs a case

Some take accusative, some dative, some genitive.

📊 Two-way prepositions
Preposition Meaning Acc (motion) Dat (location)
in in/into into → acc inside → dat
auf on/onto onto → acc on → dat
an at/to to → acc at → dat
unter under under → acc under → dat
💬 Examples
für dich / mit dir
for you / with you
📝 für = accusative, mit = dative
durch den Park
through the park
📝 durch + accusative
Two-way prepositions: motion vs location

in, an, auf, über, unter ... take accusative for motion, dative for location.

💬 Examples
Ich gehe in die Schule.
I go into the school.
📝 Motion → accusative (die)
Ich bin in der Schule.
I am in the school.
📝 Location → dative (der)
Contractions

in dem → im, in das → ins, zu dem → zum.

💬 Examples
im Haus
in the house
📝 in dem → im
ins Kino
to the cinema
📝 in das → ins