2.3 Nominative & Accusative Cases

What cases do

German marks a noun's role with cases. The nominative is the subject (who does the action); the accusative is the direct object (what receives it).

Article changes

Only the masculine article changes in the accusative: der → den, ein → einen. Feminine (die/eine), neuter (das/ein), and plural (die) stay the same.

Example

'Der Mann sieht den Hund' (The man sees the dog). 'Der Mann' is nominative (subject); 'den Hund' is accusative (object). Word order can vary, but the case shows the role.

Key terms

Nominative

the subject case (who does the action)

Accusative

the direct-object case (what receives the action)

der → den

masculine article changes in the accusative

ein → einen

masculine indefinite in the accusative

Unchanged

die, das, die (plural) stay the same in accusative

Try an AP-style question

"Ich sehe ___ Hund."

1. dem
2. den
3. das
4. der