Languages › German How Well Do You Know Your German Two-Way Prepositions? Dative or accusative? On the sand, at the beach, in the water. Getty Images/Thomas Grundner / LOOK-foto German Grammar History & Culture Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary By Hyde Flippo Hyde Flippo German Expert Hyde Flippo taught the German language for 28 years at high school and college levels and published several books on the German language and culture. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on March 06, 2017 1. Karl, bitte stell die Vase ___ Tisch. an den auf den auf dem Correct Wrong Translation: Karl, please put the vase on the table. The "an den" choice was incorrect because a table is a horizontal surface and "an" is used for vertical surfaces. The "auf dem" answer was incorrect because this is an accusative (wohin?) situation, not dative. The vase is moving towards the table. 2. Heute muss man nicht ___ Grenze halten. an die auf die an der Correct Wrong Translation: Today you don't have to stop at the border. The accusative phrase "an die" doesn't work here because it would indicate motion towards the border. But we're stopped AT the border: "an der Grenze" (wo? - dative). A border is treated like a vertical barrier, so "auf" doesn't work here either. 3. Meine Brille ist ___ Wasser gefallen! im ins ans Correct Wrong Translation: My glasses fell into the water!) English "into" is almost always "ins" (in das) with "das" nouns. Wohin? - where to? Into the water. 4. Heute waren viele Leute ___ Kirche. in der in die im Correct Wrong Translation: Today many people were at/in [the] church. This question answers the question where (wo?) as in a location, so it takes the dative case. 5. Vor ___ waren wir in der Schweiz. zwei Jahre zwei Jahren zweijährige Correct Wrong Translation: Two years ago we were in Switzerland. Dative plural nouns usually end in "n". "Vor" with time is dative. 6. Die Elbe mündet ___ Nordsee. in die in den in der 7. Von Venedig sind wir über die Alpen nach München geflogen. über der über die über den Correct Wrong Translation: From Venice we flew over the Alps to Munich. The Alps are "die Alpen" - here "über die Alpen" means "across the Alps". If we were hovering over the Alps (like a cloud, wo?), that would be "über den Alpen". 8. Ich will das Foto ___ Schreibtisch hängen. hinter den hinter dem hinter der Correct Wrong Translation: I want to hang the picture behind the desk. "Hinter" is the opposite of "vor" and behaves just like that preposition. These kinds of phrases change to dative if an "auf" prefix is added to the verb: "Ich will das Bild hinter dem Tisch aufhängen." 9. Kannst du nicht ___ Zeilen lesen? zwischen die zwischen der zwischen den Correct Wrong Translation: Can't you read between the lines? This question asks where (wo?) not where to, so it takes the dative case. 10. Hans war ja zwei Monate ___ USA. in den in die in der Correct Wrong Translation: Hans was in the USA for two months. Wo war Hans? - dative plural answer; in German the U.S. is plural ("the United States [pl.] are..."). 11. Das Buch liegt dort ___ Tisch. an der auf dem auf den Correct Wrong Translation: The book is lying [over] there on the table.) Horizontal surface (auf) in the dative (wo?) 12. Ich warte dann ___ Kino auf dich. vor dem vors vor den Correct Wrong Translation: I'll wait for you in front of the movie theater/cinema.) Where (wo?) will you wait? = dative. (das Kino > dem Kino) 13. Wir übernachten ___ Himmel. unter freiem unter freien unter freier Correct Wrong Translation: We're spending the night under the open sky. Wo? - dative (of 'der Himmel') The adjective "frei" takes a strong -em ending because there is no article in front of it. 14. Ich sitze ___ Frau. neben meine neben meiner neben meinen Correct Wrong Translation: I'm sitting next to my wife. Wo? - dative (of 'meine Frau') 15. Ja, Maria, du hast einen langen Tag ___. vor dich vor sich vor dir Correct Wrong Translation: Maria, you have a long day ahead of you. Dative plural nouns usually end in "n". "Vor" with time is dative. 16. Gehen Ihre Kinder schon ___ Schule? in die in der an der Correct Wrong Translation: Are your children already going to school? Where are they going to (Wohin?) Motion requires the accusative case. 17. Der Reiter steigt ___ Pferd. auf dem am aufs Correct Wrong Translation: The rider mounts [climbs on] the horse. Wohin? - where to? - "onto the horse" - auf das 18. Die Taube sitzt ___ Dach. aufs am auf dem Correct Wrong Translation: The dove/pigeon is sitting on the roof. Wo (where?) is the dove sitting? (Dative case). 19. Sie setzte sich an einen Tisch ___ Ecke. in die in der im Correct Wrong Translation: She sat down at a table in the corner. While "sich setzen" is accusative (wohin?), the phrase "in der Ecke" is dative because it refers to where (wo?) the table is located. 20. Der Lehrer schreibt die Vokabeln ___ Tafel. an der auf der an die Correct Wrong Translation: The teacher writes the vocabulary on[to] the blackboard. In German, when you write on the blackboard/chalkboard, you write "onto" it. Once the writing is there, it's "an der Tafel"! (Wo? - vertical surface) How Well Do You Know Your German Two-Way Prepositions? You got: % Correct. 'Unter' whelming Getty Images/Butch Martin Don't worry, these prepositions are super tricky! Looks as though you might need a bit more practice to polish up your German language skills. Share Your Results How Well Do You Know Your German Two-Way Prepositions? You got: % Correct. Nicht 'auf' ful Getty Images/baytunc Ok, so your grammar skills could use a little work. But hey, there's more to communicating than getting every single word perfectly correct. Share Your Results How Well Do You Know Your German Two-Way Prepositions? You got: % Correct. 'Im' pressive Getty Images/Stephen Swintek You clearly know your way around German prepositional cases. Just a few more correct and you might pass for a native speaker. Share Your Results How Well Do You Know Your German Two-Way Prepositions? You got: % Correct. 'Aus' standing! Getty Images/retales botijero Based on this awesome score, we suspect that you may actually secretly be a native German speaker. (Your secret is safe with us.) Share Your Results