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The accusative and dative cases are not distinguished in many languages, including English. However, German is an exception, and in order to define the direct (accusative) or indirect (dative) object of a sentence, learners must be proficient in these cases.
To make your life easier, the accusative case of some German verbs is nearly always followed by a noun. You can add the proper declension to nouns and ascertain the word order in German sentences by becoming familiar with these so-called “accusative verbs.”
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What are Accusative Verbs?
German verbs classified as accusative verbs might assist you in determining whether case is accusative. Because they typically occur in conjunction with a noun in the accusative case, we refer to them as accusative verbs.
While accusative verbs usually need to be combined with an accusative object, several German verbs can be used alone to construct a complete sentence. They make no sense in any other case.
The accusative verb kennen (to know) needs an object in order to constitute a complete phrase in German, yet “Ich gehe” (I go) can stand alone as a whole sentence. As an illustration, “Ich kenne ihn.” (He is someone I know.)
Identifying Accusative Verbs
1: How do you say "Good Morning" in German?
In German, the accusative case identifies the direct object of a sentence—that is, the subject of the action. In this scenario, the definite and indefinite articles of masculine nouns (‘der’ becomes ‘den’, ‘ein’ becomes ‘einen’) are altered primarily.
| Gender | Definite | Indefinite | |
| Singular | Masculine | den | einen |
| Singular | Feminine | die | eine |
| Singular | Neuter | das | ein |
| Plural | Masculine | die | — |
| Plural | Feminine | die | — |
| Plural | Neuter | die | — |
Most Common Accusative Verbs
| German | English | Example |
| lieben | to love | Sie liebt Brokkoli. (She loves broccoli.) |
| schreiben | to write | Er schreibt einen Brief. (He writes a letter.) |
| auswählen | to choose | Ich wähle ein Lied aus. (I choose a song.) |
| feiern | to celebrate | Sie feiern ihren Hochzeitstag.(They celebrate their wedding day.) |
| verlieren | to lose | Wir verlieren unser Erbe.(We lose our inheritance.) |
| schicken | to send | Ihr schickt eine Botschaft.(You send a message.) |
| aufmachen | to open | Sie macht das Fenster auf. (She opens the window.) |
| schließen | to close | Sie schließt das Fenster.(She closes the window.) |
| spielen | to play | Du spielst Schlagzeug.(You play the drums.) |
| machen | to make | Er macht seine Hausaufgaben.(He does his homework.) |
| legen | to put | Ich lege den Brief auf den Tisch.(I put the letter on the table.) |
| fragen | to ask | Er fragt seine Mutter.(He asks his mother.) |
| haben | to have | Er hat keine Ahnung.(He has no idea.) |
| essen | to eat | Wir essen Brot.(We eat bread.) |
| trinken | to drink | Wir trinken Champagner.(We drink champagne.) |
| mögen | to like | Sie mag deinen Freund.(She likes your friend.) |
| verkaufen | to sell | Sie verkaufen ihr Auto. (They sell their car.) |
| besuchen | to visit | Ihr besucht eure Freunde.(You visit your friends.) |
| bekommen | to receive | Du bekommst deine Bezahlung. (You receive your pay.) |
| brauchen | to need | Ich brauche meine Medizin.(I need my medicine.) |
German Verbs with Accusative made easy
When a noun is the recipient of an action, the accusative case is employed in sentences including direct objects. Certain verbs in German are called accusative verbs because they always have an object when they appear in the accusative form. The bulk of German verbs that require an object are accusative verbs, despite the language having comparatively few dative verbs.
For German language learners, knowing accusative verbs can be quite beneficial because they make it simpler to reject German nouns and choose the right word order for sentences. Hence, you’ll be able to recognise the accusative case of a verb the moment you encounter it in a German phrase.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the accusative form of a word?
The accusative case, also known as the accusative case in some languages’ grammar, is applied to a noun when it is the direct object of a verb or the object of some prepositions.
How to know if a verb is accusative or dative?
To put it simply, an object is directly affected by the verb’s action when it is in the accusative, whereas an object is indirectly or incidentally affected when it is in the dative.
How to know if it is an accusative case?
When a noun is the sentence’s direct object, the “accusative case” is employed. Stated differently, when it’s the subject of the sentence that’s being impacted (or “verbed”).
