Accusative Case - Functions

Accusative Case

Functions

Nouns and pronouns use the accusative case:

when they are the direct object of a verb
when they are the object of an accusative preposition
when they are the object of an accusative/dative preposition
when they are used in an expression of definite time
when they are used in conjunction with certain special expressions.

1) Ich sehe den Mann.
2) Wir gehen durch das Haus.
3) Sie geht in einen Laden.
4) Er macht das jeden Abend.
5) Wir sind ihn endlich los!

I see the man.
We go through the house.
She goes into a store.
He does that every evening.
We finally are rid of him!

Form

The definite and indefinite articles in the accusative case are:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Definite Indefinite	den Mann einen Mann	die Frau eine Frau	das Kind ein Kind	die Leute keine Leute

Other noun modifiers follow the same pattern:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
der-words ein-words	diesen Mann meinen Mann	welche Frau seine Frau	jedes Kind ihr Kind	manche Leute deine Leute

Note that these articles differ from the nominative case articles only for masculine nouns.

Some masculine nouns, primarily those which denote a male person, add an -(e)n ending to the noun itself in the accusative case. These are called masculine N-nouns. They are listed in the dictionary as with an extra -en ending before the plural ending, e.g., der Mensch, -en, -en.