German Prepositions


Prepositions are useful for giving and receiving directions. Prepositions show the relationship of a noun to another word in a sentence. Prepositions are sometimes called structural words, because these words have little meaning in isolation, but are used to link together items from the major word-classes of nouns, adjectives and verbs. This enables more complex structures to be built up. Prepositions usually precede nouns or pronouns in a sentence.
The following table has some useful prepositions:

German
Pronunciation
English
auf
ouf
On
bei
bay
At
fern
feRn
Far
gegen
gey-guhn
Against
hinter
hin-tuhR
Behind
In
in
In
nach
naCH
After
nah
nah
Near
neben
ney-buhn
Next to
ohne
oh-nuh
Without
um.zu
oom.tsew
In order to
unter
oon-tuhR
Under
von
fon
From
vor
foR
In front of
zu, nach
tsew, naCH
To, At
zwischen
tsvi-shuhn
Between

In English we can simply place any preposition in front of any noun or in front of the pronouns 'me, us, you, him, her, it' and 'them' without complication. In German, each preposition requires the noun or pronoun following to be a particular case, generally DO (direct object) or IO (indirect object).

Some prepositions require DO exclusively, some IO exclusively, and some require either DO or IO according to the sense. It is impossible to translate prepositions from one language to another out of context. You can only learn prepositions by finding them and learning to use them in genuine contexts, noting any particularly idiomatic or exceptional usage. Here are some common English equivalents grouped according to the case required:

DO Prepositions:

  • durch
    • through, by, by means of
  • für
    • for
  • gegen
    • against, towards
  • ohne
    • without
  • um
    • round, at (time of day)

IO Prepositions:


  • aus
    • out of, from
  • bei 
    • with, at (so-and-so's house), near, in (such-and-such conditions or weather), during in the process/course of
  • mit
    • with
  • nach
    • to (certain locations, including one's own house 'nach Hause', after (time), according to
  • seit
    • since, for (period of time up to now)
  • von
    • from (place and time), by (indicating agency or authorship), of (possession)
  • zu
    • to (certain locations), at (e.g. home, 'zu Hause')


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