Accusative Verbs in German : Experts Guide

Introduction

Learning German means unlocking a world of nuance that English speakers often overlook. Unlike English, German grammar requires mastery of cases, especially the accusative and dative cases, which indicate a sentence’s direct and indirect objects. For beginners, understanding accusative verbs in German is essential—these verbs almost always pair with nouns in the accusative case, guiding both grammatical structure and word order. By getting familiar with accusative verbs and their usage, you’ll streamline your German sentences and build a strong foundation for fluency.

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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 

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.

Most Common Accusative Verbs

Difference Between Accusative and Dative Cases

Accusative Case

• Purpose: Identifies the direct object—the noun that directly receives the action in a sentence.

• Key Question: Whom? or What? (Wen? Was?)

• Article Changes: In the accusative, only masculine articles and pronouns change; feminine, neuter, and plural stay the same.

  • Masculine: der → den / ein → einen

  • Feminine: die → die / eine → eine

  • Neuter: das → das / ein → ein

  • Plural: die → die

• Example:

  • Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.)

  • Sie liebt einen Apfel. (She loves an apple.)

Dative Case

• Purpose: Identifies the indirect object—the noun receiving the direct object or for whom the action is done.

• Key Question: To whom? or For whom? (Wem?)

• Article Changes: All articles and pronouns change, especially plural form, which adds an ‘-n’ to the noun.

  • Masculine: der → dem / ein → einem

  • Feminine: die → der / eine → einer

  • Neuter: das → dem / ein → einem

  • Plural: die → den (+n to noun)

• Example:

  • Ich gebe dem Hund einen Ball. (I give the dog a ball.)

  • Die Schülerin gibt dem Lehrer ein Buch. (The student gives the teacher a book.)

Table: Accusative vs Dative Articles

How to Identify the Accusative Case in Sentences

Signal Words & Tips:

• Look for the noun that is directly acted upon—it’s usually the victim of the verb’s action.

• Ask “whom?” or “what?” after the verb:

  • “Ich sehe wen?” → “den Hund” (the dog)

• If you see prepositions such as durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, bis and entlang, the noun following them will be in the accusative.

• In most sentences, the accusative object immediately follows the verb or is clear by article endings (-en for masculine).

• Examples:

  • Ich trinke den Kaffee. (“What do I drink?” – the coffee)

  • Sie schreibt einen Brief. (“What does she write?” – a letter)

• Nouns in accusative can move around the verb in German, but the articles reveal their role in the sentence regardless of position.

Comprehensive Table of Accusative Verbs

Here’s an expanded, user-friendly table with German verbs that almost always require an accusative object, along with their English meanings and example sentences:

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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Common Accusative Prepositions

German prepositions determine the case of the noun that follows them. The accusative prepositions always trigger the accusative case for their objects. Mastery of these words is crucial for forming grammatically correct sentences!

List of Key Accusative Prepositions

• für (for)

• um (around, at)

• durch (through)

• gegen (against, towards)

• ohne (without)

• bis (until, to)

• wider (against, contrary to)

• entlang (along; usually placed after the noun)

A useful mnemonic for remembering these is “FUDGEBOW” (from the initials) – accuse someone of stealing your fudge bow.

Example Sentences

Pro Tips

• entlang almost always follows the noun (den Fluss entlang), unlike other prepositions which precede the noun.

• If the object is masculine (“der”), switch to “den” after these prepositions.

Exercises & Practice Sentences

Fill-in-the-Blank Exercise

Choose the correct accusative article for each sentence:

1. Ich trinke ____ Kaffee. (der Kaffee)

2. Wir gehen ____ Park. (der Park)

3. Sie kauft ____ Geschenk für ihre Mutter. (das Geschenk)

4. Markus fährt ____ Auto durch ____ Tunnel. (das Auto, der Tunnel)

5. Ich spiele ____ Schlagzeug ohne ____ Lehrer. (das Schlagzeug, der Lehrer)

Answers

1. den (Ich trinke den Kaffee.)

2. durch den (Wir gehen durch den Park.)

3. das (Sie kauft das Geschenk für ihre Mutter.)

4. das, den (Markus fährt das Auto durch den Tunnel.)

5. das, den (Ich spiele das Schlagzeug ohne den Lehrer.)

Sentence Construction Practice

Build sentences using an accusative verb and accusative preposition:

• Beispiel: Ich kaufe das Buch für meinen Freund. (I buy the book for my friend.)

• Beispiel: Wir laufen durch den Wald. (We walk through the forest.)

• Beispiel: Sie macht das Fenster ohne Probleme auf. (She opens the window without problems.)

Challenge Exercise

Identify and underline the accusative objects in these sentences:

• Ich esse den Apfel ohne Messer.

• Sie sieht das Auto gegen die Wand fahren.

• Wir laufen den Fluss entlang bis zur Brücke.

Conclusion

Mastering the accusative case and its verbs is a major milestone on the journey to German fluency. By focusing on the verbs that nearly always take an accusative object and understanding how declensions work, learners can quickly improve both spoken and written German. Add interactive exercises, clear explanatory content, and targeted keywords throughout your blog to boost engagement and search ranking. Ready to take your skills higher? Get Free Demo Classes Now and join a vibrant learning community through Entri’s German courses!