Verben mit PräpositionenVerbs with prepositions

There are a number of set phrases in both English and German that consist of a verb + a certain preposition but these phrases differ between the two languages. When learning German prepositional phrases, it is best to learn which preposition each individual verb uses. Here are some examples of such phrases in English and in German.

English examples Deutsche Beispiele

I looked it up in the dictionary. Ich danke dir für das Geschenk.

I backed the car up. Ich warte auf meinen Freund.

I asked her out. Ich arbeite an einem Projekt.

I broke up with her. Ich suche nach meinem Hund.

We should call that off. Ich ärgere mich über das Problem.

In English, such phrases are sometimes referred to as phrasal verbs.

Determining the caseAs with all prepositional phrases, the case of the prepositional object will depend on the preposition itself. If a preposition is accusative, the object of that preposition will be in the accusative case. If a preposition is dative, the object of that preposition will be in the dative case.

Ich habe nach dir gefragt.

Nach is a dative preposition…so the object of the preposition (dir) is in the dative case.

Dativaus – out ofausser – outside ofbei – at / bymit - withnach - afterseit - sincevon - fromzu - togegenüber – across from

Ich bewerbe mich um die Stelle.

um is an accusative preposition…so the object of the preposition (die Stelle) is in the Accusative case.

Akkusativdurch – throughfür – forgegen – againstohne – withoutum – aroundentlang – alongbis - until

Determining the caseTwo-way prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen) may take either the accusative case or the dative case. When a verb + preposition combination uses a two-way prepositions, it will be necessary to memorize along with the phrase also the case that the preposition uses in that particular phrase.

Ich denke an dich.

Ich muss an dem Projekt arbeiten.

In this sentence, the preposition an uses the accusative case.

In this sentence, the preposition an uses the dative case.

Wechselpräpositionenin – inan – atüber – over/ aboveunter – under / beneathvor – in front ofhinter – behindzwischen – betweenneben – next toauf – on top of

For more help learning these, look at our video over two way prepositions.

Vorsicht! – Caution!

Don’t confuse prepositions used with verbs with verbs with separable and inseparable prefixes. These are fairly easy to recognize as the are often at the end of the sentence and do not take an object.

Ich ziehe meine Jacke an.

In this sentence, an is a separable prefix . The separable prefix verb used here is anziehen – to put on.

Verb Prefixes that are often used as stand alone prepositions include: an, auf, zu, mit, über, unter, vor, durch, um, nach,

Hinweise - TipsExcept for an, most two-way prepositions (Wechselpräpositionen) take the accusative case when used in this manner.

Er hat sich in sie verliebt.

Accusative case

The most common exceptions to this rule are prepositional verbs with "vor," which are often followed by nouns and pronouns in the dative, and "arbeiten an," which is also followed by the dative.

Er arbeitet an dem Projekt.

Dative case

Er hat mich vor dem Feuer gerettet.

Dative case