German cases, articles and nouns
Read noun phrases through the four cases, using articles, noun endings and pronouns as evidence.
Exam scope and assessment notes
All German texts, listening scripts, prompts, model responses, examples and exercises here are original StudyForA practice, not Cambridge assessment material. The map covers the five broad topic areas, the published grammar categories and the paper formats for both syllabus cycles; Cambridge describes its topic sub-lists as examples rather than an exhaustive vocabulary boundary. The separate 2028 vocabulary spreadsheet is linked but has not been reconciled word by word. German-language specialist review, comprehensive vocabulary auditing and full timed paper simulations remain outstanding. Browser speech synthesis is not Cambridge audio and cannot guarantee accent or pronunciation. Speaking checklists and writing review are practice aids, not an examiner mark or Cambridge moderation. This is not a complete 130-hour course. Confirm exam year, series, zone and entry with your school and Cambridge. Use the paper lesson that matches your examination year; speaking and writing practice does not award official marks.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Choose the correct phrase: «Ich spreche mit ___ Lehrer.»
What you will learn
- Recognise nominative, accusative, dative and genitive roles in a sentence.
- Use definite, indefinite and negative «kein» forms in all cases.
- Recognise noun gender and plural patterns, including genitive singular and dative plural.
- Meet weak and adjectival nouns and personal, reflexive and question pronouns.
Ask what job each noun phrase does
Nominative commonly marks the subject, accusative a direct object, dative a recipient or the object of a dative-taking preposition, and genitive possession or a genitive preposition. Learn verbs and prepositions together with the case they require.
A starting contrast: «Der Schüler sieht den Lehrer» (the student sees the teacher); «Der Lehrer gibt dem Schüler das Buch» (the teacher gives the student the book). Changing the article changes who receives or sees what.
Read the whole phrase, not one ending
The article often carries the clearest case signal: «mit dem Freund», «für den Freund», «wegen des Wetters». «Kein» follows the same ending patterns as «ein», with a negative meaning: «kein Bus», «keinen Bus», «keinem Bus».
Some masculine weak nouns add «-n/-en» outside the nominative («der Student», «den Studenten»). Dative plurals commonly add «-n» where possible («mit den Kindern»). These patterns have exceptions; keep a noun's gender and plural beside its article.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
In «Der Vater schenkt seiner Tochter ein Buch», who receives the book?
Worked example
Explain the roles and case signals in: «Die Lehrerin gibt dem neuen Schüler ein Heft und spricht mit ihm.»
Show the worked solution
- Find who gives: the subject is nominative.
- Find what is given and to whom.
- Check the case after «mit».
Answer «Die Lehrerin» is the nominative subject; «ein Heft» is the accusative thing given; «dem neuen Schüler» is the dative recipient. «Mit» takes the dative, so «ihm» is dative and refers to the student.
From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Label the cases in «Der Arzt gibt dem Kind eine Karte und erklärt den Weg».
Give me a hint
Identify the giver first, then the thing, recipient and direct object of «erklärt».
Compare my reasoning
- Find the subject of «gibt».
- Ask what is given and to whom.
- Ask what the doctor explains.
«Der Arzt» is nominative; «eine Karte» is accusative; «dem Kind» is dative; «den Weg» is accusative after «erklärt».
Look for these in your work
- Labels the subject correctly
- Distinguishes thing from recipient
- Identifies the second direct object
Complete with the correct article: «Wir fahren mit ___ Zug, aber ohne ___ Fahrkarte.» Explain why the endings differ.
Give me a hint
Look up the cases required by «mit» and «ohne».
Compare my reasoning
- Identify the case after «mit».
- Identify the case after «ohne».
- Match the article to masculine «der Zug» and feminine «die Fahrkarte».
«mit dem Zug, aber ohne eine Fahrkarte». «Mit» takes dative; «ohne» takes accusative. The noun gender differs as well.
Look for these in your work
- Uses dative after «mit»
- Uses accusative after «ohne»
- Explains case and gender
Rewrite «Die Mutter gibt der Student ein Foto» so the student is the recipient. Then replace «der Student» with the pronoun «er».
Give me a hint
Use the dative recipient and remember the weak-noun ending.
Compare my reasoning
- Keep the mother as subject.
- Change the student phrase to masculine dative.
- Replace the phrase with the matching dative pronoun.
«Die Mutter gibt dem Studenten ein Foto.» With a pronoun: «Die Mutter gibt ihm ein Foto.» «Student» is a weak masculine noun, and «geben» marks the recipient in the dative.
Look for these in your work
- Forms the dative article
- Adds the weak-noun ending
- Uses «ihm» for the dative pronoun
Common mistakes
- Choosing a case only from English word order
- Forgetting that «mit» takes the dative
- Treating gender and case as the same thing
What can you explain now?
Which case follows «mit»?
Compare with the explanation
Dative
For example: «mit dem Freund», «mit der Freundin».
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