DATIVE & ACCUSATIVE PREPOSITIONS: LOCATION VS. DESTINATION WITH THE PREPOSITIONS AN, AUF, HINTER, IN, NEBEN, ÜBER, UNTER, VOR, ZWISCHEN
Certain prepositions take dative
objects when describing where something is located, but accusative objects when the object is a
destination. We have seen three cases of this so far.
| Wo soll ich die Koffer hinstellen? |
| Where should I put the suitcases? |
| Neben das Bett. |
| Beside the bed. |
| Aber man fährt eine Stunde in die Innenstadt. |
| But you drive for an hour to get into the city center. |
| Ich möchte eine Überweisung an die Firma Dieter Schottmaler. |
| I’d like a funds transfer to the Dieter Schottmaler Company. |
The prepositions that alternate in this way are: an, auf,
hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen. As they
appeared in context in this course, they have been listed in the
vocabulary with the notation separately for location plus dative
and destination plus accusative. Sometimes they are called
two-way prepositions because of this alternation.
Idiomatic Uses of Two-Way Prepositions
In some instances, prepositions in this "two-way" group
cannot be interpreted as describing either a location or a
destination.
| Ich möchte eine Überweisung über DM 2 000,-. |
| I’d like a funds transfer in the amount of 2000 marks. |
| Ich möchte Ihnen einige Fragen übers Hotel stellen. |
| I’d like to ask a few questions about the hotel. |
In these instances, the case they take cannot be inferred from spatial logic, but is simply idiomatic. These instances will be noted in the vocabulary.
The Preposition in Plus Dative to Describe Enclosure
The preposition in takes the dative
to describe enclosure.
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine |
| im Koffer | im Taxi | in der Bank |
| in the suitcase | in the taxi | in the bank |
The Preposition in plus Accusative to Describe Entering
The German preposition in takes the accusative for destinations. The
contraction for in + das is ins.. In
describing destinations generally implies entrance.
| Sie kommen in den Souvenirladen. |
| They’re coming into the souvenir shop. |
| Wir müssen morgen Abend in die Oper. |
| We’ve got to go to the opera tomorrow night. |
| Wir sind im Dezember nicht ins Theater gegangen. |
| We didn’t go to the theater in December. |
Countries with feminine gender require in to describe
location and destination. The case changes accordingly.
| Erika ist in der Schweiz. |
| Erica’s in Switzerland. |
| Erika fährt in die Schweiz. |
| Erica’s driving to Switzerland. |