LESSON 40

PREPOSITIONS / PRÄPOSITIONEN

Two Way Prepositions / Wechselpräpositionen – I

OBJECTIVE

 Introduction to Two way prepositions

 Introduction to Accusative and Dative verbs along with two way prepositions
 Demonstration of two way prepositions

SUMMARY

In this lesson the focus would be on Two-way prepositions or ‘Wechselpräpositionen’. We would

focus on the features of these prepositions, the various prepositions and also learn how to use these
prepositions through a simple demonstration.

TEXT

This lesson deals with a different category of prepositions called two-way prepositions or
‘Wechselpräposition’. These prepositions are referred with this term as they tend to change their
case into either accusative or dative. The prepositions with their corresponding meaning are given
below. However, it is not exactly the meaning as it may change in each context.

Two Way Prepositions / Wechselpräpositionen

1. hinter (behind)

2. an (at, on top of, to)

3. neben (next to, beside)

4. auf (on, onto, to)

5. unter (under, underneath, beneath)

6. zwischen (between, (in) between)

7. vor (in front of)

8. in (inside, in, into, to)

9. über (above, over)

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The two-way prepositions have the following important features which govern their use in
sentences:

1. These prepositions take the accusative case when the noun or the pronoun shows any
movement, i.e. the noun or the pronoun either moves or is moved externally by another agent
from point A to point B. For these prepositions the W-Question ‘Wohin’ is used which means ‘to
where’. This question provides the answer regarding the point B where the noun or pronoun
moves or is moved.
2. Two-way prepositions take the dative case when the noun or pronoun does not show any
movement and it remains fixed or stationary. In such contexts the W-Question ‘Wo’ is used
which means ‘where’. With this question we can locate the position of the noun or the pronoun.

As we know that nouns and pronouns are case dependent. Hence depending on the W-Question and
the corresponding preposition, the noun and the pronoun would be either in accusative case or
dative case.

Two-way prepositions are somewhat specific as they are also controlled by the verb, which may
make the sentence into an accusative or a dative prepositional phrase. There are many verbs which
take the accusative case or the dative case and influence the preposition in changing the form of the
noun or pronoun. Some of the common verbs which take the accusative and dative case are shown
below:

Verben mit Akkusativ / Accusative Verbs Verben mit Dativ / Dative Verbs

 stellen – to place something or somebody somewhere  stehen – to stand

 hängen – to hang something or somebody somewhere  hängen – something hangs

 setzen – to seat someone  sitzen – to sit

 legen – to put something somewhere  liegen – something is lying somewhere

 fahren – to drive, to travel  sein – to be

 gehen – to go  bleiben – to remain

 laufen – to run  wohnen – to stay, to live

 arbeiten – to work

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As you can see in the table, the verb ‘hängen’ is a common for accusative and dative case. However
in the context it has got a different meaning. Also, the verbs in accusative case show some
movement, whereas verbs in dative case do not show any movement.

In the next lesson we would focus on each preposition specifically and discuss their meanings and
use with the verbs through various examples and exercises.

CASE STUDY – This lesson does not require any case study.

FAQs

Q: Do two way prepositions also exist with other elements like nouns, verbs etc.?

A: Yes. Two way prepositions have diverse applications. They could be either with a verb or a noun
or together with a noun and verb. In each context they might have a different meaning and a
different case, i.e. accusative or dative.

ASSIGNMENT

1. Please watch the video and revise all the two way prepositions as demonstrated here.

2. Please make a table of verb conjugations of the verbs in accusative and dative case which are
mentioned in this lesson. Also try to make a few new sentences (at least 5-10) as shown in the
video.

QUIZ - Choose the correct response from the given options.

1. ‘Wo’ refers to the following case(s)

a) Nominative & Accusative
b) Nominative & Dative
c) Accusative
d) Dative

2. ‘Wohin’ refers to the following case(s)

a) Nominative
b) Accusative
c) Dative
d) Nominative and Dative

3. ‘Wo’ in prepositional case means the following:

a) The subject moves from one point to another point.
b) The subject does not move from one point to another point.
c) The subject is in the nominative case.
d) The subject is in the accusative case.

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4. ‘Wohin’ in prepositional case means the following:
a) The subject moves from one point to another point.
b) The subject does not move from one point to another point.
c) The subject is in the nominative case.
d) The subject is in the dative case.

5. Wohin fährt der Zug? – In this question ‘fährt’ indicates

a) Nominative
b) Accusative
c) Dative
d) Nominative & Dative

6. Wo liegt das Buch? – In this question ‘liegt’ indicates

a) Nominative & Dative
b) Nominative & Accusative
c) Accusative and Dative
d) Dative

7. Wohin stellen Sie das Buch? – In this question ‘stellen’ refers to the verb in
a) Accusative
b) Dative
c) Nominative & Accusative
d) Nominative & Dative

8. Wo wohnen Sie? – Ich wohne in Mumbai. In these statements ‘wohnen’ refers to which case?
a) Nominative & Accusative
b) Nominative & Dative
c) Accusative
d) Dative

9. Which of the following verb series show verbs in accusative case?

a) stehen, hängen, sitzen, liegen
b) stehen, stellen, setzen, liegen
c) stellen, setzen, hängen, legen
d) stellen, sitzen, hängen, liegen

10. Which of the following verb series show verbs in dative case?
a) sein, bleiben, wohnen, arbeiten
b) sein, stehen, stellen, legen
c) sein, stellen, fahren, liegen
d) sein, stehen, gehen, stellen

TUTORIALS
http://www.dw.com/downloads/36355410/wechselprpositionen-mit-dativen.pdf
http://www.dw.com/downloads/36355411/wechselprpositionen-mit-akkusativen.pdf
https://learngerman.dw.com/en/verbs-position-direction/gr-38626306
https://learngerman.dw.com/en/prepositions-of-place-1/gr-38302978
https://learngerman.dw.com/en/prepositions-of-place-2/gr-38318069

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LINKS
https://www.dw.com/downloads/36252453/verben-stehen-liegen-sitzenen.pdf
https://www.dw.com/downloads/36252454/verben-stellen-legen-setzenen.pdf

REFERENCES
Funk, H. Studio d. A1, A2 Cornelsen, Berlin / Goyal Saab, Delhi

GLOSSARY

Verben mit Akkusativ / Accusative Verbs

stellen – to place something or somebody somewhere
hängen – to hang something or somebody somewhere
setzen – to seat someone
legen – to put something somewhere
fahren – to drive, to travel
gehen – to go
laufen – to run

Verben mit Dativ / Dative Verbs

stehen – to stand
hängen – to hang something or somebody somewhere
sitzen – to sit
liegen – something is lying somewhere
sein – to be
bleiben – to remain
wohnen – to stay, to live
arbeiten – to work