The accusative case in everyday sentences
Only one article changes in the accusative — but it changes constantly, so learning der to den properly pays off all year.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Write prose using an increasingly wide range of grammar and vocabulary, and write creatively to express their own ideas and opinions
Key learning points
- • Which noun is the object?
- • The article table you actually need
- • Accusative prepositions
- • Building longer sentences
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 24 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 24
Visual introductionPicture this
The accusative case in everyday sentences
Only one article changes in the accusative — but it changes constantly, so learning der to den properly pays off all year.
In a nutshell
Write prose using an increasingly wide range of grammar and vocabulary, and write creatively to express their own ideas and opinions
What you already know
Part 2 of 24
Before we start
What you already know
You should already know the nominative articles der, die, das and the idea of a subject and an object.
Key words
Part 3 of 24
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Nominativ
- the case of the subject — who is doing the verb
- Akkusativ
- the case of the direct object — who or what receives the action
- den
- masculine accusative of der
- einen
- masculine accusative of ein
- für / ohne
- for / without — prepositions that always take the accusative
Reset break
Part 4 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 24
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Subject, object and the one big change
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 24
Learn
Which noun is the object?
Ask 'who or what receives the action?'. In Der Hund beisst den Mann, the dog does the biting and the man receives it. Swap the articles and you change the story, which is why case matters more in German than word order does.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 24
Learn
The article table you actually need
Masculine der becomes den and ein becomes einen. Feminine die, neuter das and plural die are unchanged. Learning that one masculine change well beats half-learning the whole grid.
Reset break
Part 8 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 24
Quick check
Part 10 of 24
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 24
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Prepositions and real sentences
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Reset break
Part 12 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 24
Learn
Accusative prepositions
Für, ohne, gegen, um and durch always take the accusative: Ich kaufe ein Geschenk für meinen Bruder. Memorise them as a short list and the ending follows automatically.
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 24
Learn
Building longer sentences
Combine what you know: Am Wochenende kaufe ich einen neuen Rucksack für meinen Bruder, weil sein Rucksack kaputt ist. Inversion, accusative, a preposition and weil in one sentence.
Quick check
Part 15 of 24
Reset break
Part 16 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 17 of 24
Common mix-ups
Part 18 of 24
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- Only masculine articles change in the accusative — die and das stay put.
- Es gibt is always followed by the accusative: es gibt einen Park.
- Case is decided by the job of the noun, not its position in the sentence.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 24
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 20 of 24
Pause
That's sitting 5 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 24
Game · Recall cards
'I have a brother' is...
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 22 of 24
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. Accusative of 'der Hund' is...
2. Es gibt takes the...
3. 'ohne' means...
4. Which changes in the accusative?
5. 'Ich kaufe ___ Kuchen (der).'
6. Case is decided by...
Mastery quiz
Part 23 of 24
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: The accusative case in everyday sentences
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. 'I have a brother' is...
2. Which preposition takes the accusative?
3. In 'Ich sehe den Film', den Film is the...
4. Feminine 'die Tasche' as an object becomes...
Lesson round-up
Part 24 of 24
Lesson round-up
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