MFL Department German AMVC Glinton UK MFL German Assistant Cristina Oriando 2016/2017 Prepositions with the accusative bis ‘+ isnever followed by a determiner, except with names, adverbs and a few time words; itis usually used in combination with zu (to) ‘+ referring to place: ‘as far as’, (up) to’ © Ich fahre nur bis Marbach. \'m only going as far as Marbach, © Wir gingen bis zum Fluss. We went as far as the river. © Der Weg fdhrt bis ins Tal. The path leads right down to the valley. ‘© referring to time: ‘by, ‘until’: © Bis 1945/ bis zu seinem Tod lebte er in Wien. Until 1945/ Until his death, he lived in Vienna. © _Ich habe es bis heute Abend fertig.'I have it finished by tonight. durch ‘© _ referring to place: ‘through’, ‘across’: © Sie gingen durch den Wald (hindurch). They went through the forest. © Wirwateten durch den Fluss. We waded across the river. '* referring to cause or means: ‘by (means off’, ‘through’: © Erwurde durch das Fernsehen bekannt. Television made him famous. © Das Hous wurde durch Bomben zerstdren. The house was destroyed by bombs. Fir ‘© corresponds to English ‘for’ in many senses, especially ‘on behalf of, ‘having regard to’: © Sie hat viel fir mich getan. She did a lot for me. © Fiir sein Alter ist er ganz fit. For his age he’s quite fit. ‘referring to time, indicates a period of time from ‘now’: © Ich miete die Wohnung fir zwei Jahre. I'm renting the flat for two years. gegen ‘© referring to place: ‘against, ‘into’: © Ivan presste sie gegen die Wand. ivan pressed her against the wall. © Sie stiess gegen den Tisch. She bumped into the table. ‘+ referring to time, expresses approximation ‘about’, ‘towards’: © Sie kamen gegen halb vier an. They arrived at about half past three. © Gegen Abend erreichten sie die Hatte. They reached the hut towards evening. ‘© expresses opposition: ‘against’ © Sie handelte gegen meinen Willen. She acted against my wishes. © Das stein gutes Mitte! gegen Husten. This medicine is good for coughs. ohne ‘corresponds to English ‘without’ © Das tat sie ohne mein Wissen. She did that without my knowledge. © Erging ohne Mantel aus dem Haus. He left the house without his coat. um ‘© referring to place: ‘(a)round', ‘about’ © Sie gingen um die Ecke. They went round the corner. © Erhatgern viele Madchen um sich. He likes having a lot of girls around him. ‘+ referring to time: expresses a pointin time with clock times (‘at’), otherwise expresses an approximation (‘about’) © Sie riefen um hall vier an. They phoned at half-past four. © Sie kamen um die Mittagszeit (herum). They came around lunchtime. ‘* corresponds to English ‘about’, ‘concerning’, ‘in respect of, after certain verbs and nouns: iSLCollective.comMFL Department German AMVC Glinton UK MFL German Assistant Cristina Oriando 2016/2017 (© Hier ging es nur um Geld. This was simply a question of money. Prepositions with the dative ‘aus ‘© referring to direction: ‘out of, from’ © Sie kamen aus dem Café. They were coming out of the café. © Ich bin aus der Ubung gekommen. I've got out of practice. ‘referring to material: (made) of: © Die Kaffeekanne war aus Silber. The coffee-pot was made of silver. ‘© expresses a cause, a reason or motive: ‘for, ‘from’, ‘out of” © Sie tates aus Uberzeugung. She did it from conviction. © _Ich frage nur aus Interesse. 'm only asking out of interest. ‘ausser ‘expresses restriction: ‘except (for, ‘apart from’ © _Niemand sah ihn ausser mir. Nobody saw him except fromm e. bei * referring to place, indicates approximate location: ‘by, ‘at’, including reference to where somebody lives or works: © Potsdam liegt bei Berlin, Potsdam is near Berli © Ich wohne bei meinen Eltern. | live at my parent: ‘Indicates attendant circumstances, ie. “in view of’, ‘on the occasion of’, or simply ‘while doing something’: © Bei diesem Wetter muss er hier bleiben. in view of the weather he'll have to stay here. © Das besprechen wir bei einem Glos Wein. We'll discuss that over a Blass of wine. ‘* used with a verbal noun, corresponds to ‘when’ © Beiseiner Ankunft kiisste sie ihn. She kissed him when he arrived, © Beim Fahren benutze ich nie das Handy. | never use my phone when I'm driving. gegeniiber | The position of gegendber is unusal: it follows a pronoun, and can precede or {follow a noun. Especially with nouns denoting people, it tends to follow the noun. ‘* referring to place: ‘opposite’: © Ich wohne gegeniiber dem Sportplatz. \live opposite the sportsground. © Ich sass ihr/ dem Herrn gegeniiber. | sat opposite her/ the man. ‘© expresses a comparison or a relation: ‘in respect of,, ‘toward’: © Gisela gegeniiber ist Anne im Vorteil. Anne hast he advantage over Gisela. Das ist eine neue Politik gegentiber den USA. This is a new policy towards the USA. mit ‘© corresponds to English ‘with’ in most senses. © Sie dffnete die Tur mit ihrem Schlussel. She opened the door with her key. © Mit ihr spiele ich oft Tennis. | often play tennis with her. licates means of transport: ‘by’ © Wir sind mit der Bahn gefahren. We went there by train. ‘nach ‘© referring to direction: ‘to’ © Wir fahren nach Duisburg/ nach England. We're going to Duisburg/ toEngland. © Die Strasse fuhrt von Osten nach Westen. The road goes from east to west. + _ referring to time: ‘after’ iSLCollective.comMFL Department German AMVC Glinton UK MFL German Assistant Cristina Oriando 2016/2017 © Julia kam nach dem Abendessen. Julia came after dinner. ‘+ corresponds to English ‘according to’. n this sense it can follow the noun, especially in some set phrases. © Nach meiner Uhr ist es schon zehn. According to my watch it’s, already ten. © _Meiner Meinung nach ist das nutzlos. in my opinion that's useless. seit ‘© referring to time: ‘for’ (a period of time up to ‘now’ or ‘then’), ‘since’, © Seit einer Stunde stand sie im Flur. She had been standing in the hall for an hour. © Seit 1990 wohnt sie wieder in Rostock. She has been living in Rostock again since 1990 von! ‘© referring to direction or time: ‘from’. In time phrases itis often used with a following an: © Sie fubren von Augsburg nach Munchen. They drove from Augsburg to Munich. © Das wusste ich von Anfang an. | knew that from the start. ‘* corresponds to English ‘of, it can be used as an alternative for the Genitive © Ich fahre mit dem Wagen von meinem Vater (instead of mitdem Wagen meines Vaters).'ll go with my father’s car, © Kann einer von euch mir helfen? Can one of you help me? © Millionen von Lesem waren begeistert. Millions of readers were thrilled, © Das ist die Kénigin von England. That's the Queen of England. ‘© referring to the agent in passive constructions: © Erwurde von dem Angeklagten erwargt. He was strangled by the accused, © Das Auto wurde von der Polizei abgeschleppt. The car was towed away by the police. mw ‘© referring to direction: ‘to’ (in that direction, or to someone’s house) © Dieser Bus féhrt zum Rathaus. This bus goes to the town hall. © Heute Abend gehen wir zu Fatima. Tonight we're going to Fatima’s. ‘* referring to time, indicates a point in time: ‘at’ © Der Osterhase kommt nur zu Ostern. The Easter bunny only comes at Easter. © Das wor zur Zeit der letzten Wahlen. That was at the time of the last election, ‘referring to purpose: ‘for’ © Zu diesem Zweck heirate ich den Millionér. For that reason I'm marrying the millionaire. © Ich lade ihn zu meinem Geburtstag ein. 'm inviting him to my birthday. other ‘© ab (from): ab nachster Woche — from next week Prepositions | * dank (thanks to): dank seinem Einfluss ~ thanks to his influence with the ‘© entgegen (contrary to): entgegen allen Erwartungen ~ contrary to all dative: expectations ‘© gemiss (according to): geméiss den Anweisungen — according tot he instructions aut (according to): laut unserem Bericht ~ according to out report zufolge (according to): dem Wetterbericht zufolge ~ according tot he weather forecast iSLCollective.comMFL Department AMVC Glinton UK Cristina Oriando Preposition with the accusative OR the dative With one group of prepositions, using a different case changes the meaning. These prepositions require the dative if they express position, and the accusative if they express direction. German MFL German Assistant 2016/2017 PREPOSITION | + DATIVE ACCUSATIVE an '* position: ‘on (the side of)’, ‘at’, ‘© direction: ‘on (top of)” ‘by’ © Ichging an das Fenster. | © Ich wartete am Fenster. | went to the window. waited at the window. © Ich schrieb einen Brief an © Das Fahrrad stand an der ‘meine Mutter. | wrote a Mauer. The bike stood by letter to my mother. the wall © time: ‘on’, ‘in’: © Sle kam am Montag/ am Abend. She came on Monday/ in the evening. auf “on (top off, (on top of something): | “{on) to’, onto the top of something: Die Katze sitzt auf dem Schrank. The | Die Katze sprang auf den Schronk. The ‘atsits on the cupboard. ‘at jumped onto the cupboard, Wir wohnen auf dem Land. We live in| Wirfuhren auf das/ aufs Land. We went the country. into the country. hinter “behind” “behind’ (to the back of something) Der Wagen steht hinter dem Haus. __| Sie fuhr den Wagen hinter das Haus. The car is behind the house. She drove the car round the back of the house. in ‘© position: in’ direction: in(toy © Die Mitch ist im Ich stelle die Milch in den Kiihlschrank. | Kahlschrank. The milk is in | put the milk in(to) the fridge. the fridge. ‘© time: ‘in (a period of time)” © Inzwei Stunden sind wir in Wien, We'll be in Vienna intwo hours ‘neben “next to’, ‘beside’ “next to’, ‘beside’ Ich sass neben ihrem Mann. | sat next | Ich setzte mich neben ihren Monn. |sat to her husband. down next to her husband. ‘aber ‘over’, ‘above” * direction: ‘over, ‘across’: Ober dem See schwebte ein Ballon. A © Das Flugzeug flog uber den balloon hovered over the lake. See. The plane flew over the lake. ‘about’, ‘concerning’: © Ich schreibe ein Buch Uber Afrika. I'm writing a book about Africa. © quantity: ‘more than’, ‘over’: © Das Pickchen wiegt Uber ‘500g. The package weighs over 500g. unter ‘© position: ‘under(neathy, ‘below’, | direction: ‘under’, ‘below, ‘among(st) ‘amongst’: iSLCollective.comMFL Department German AMVC Glinton UK MFL German Assistant Cristina Oriando 2016/2017 © DerHundag unter dem | Der Hund Kroch unter den Tisch. The Tisch, The dog was lying | dogcrept under the table. under the table, © Hier bist du unter Freunden. You're among friends here. ‘© quantity: ‘under’, ‘below, ‘less than’: © Das Péckchen wiegt unter 500g. The package weighs less than 500g. vor ‘© position: ‘in front of, ‘ahead of | direction: ‘in front of | © Marcowartete vor dem _ | Er fuhr vor das Kino. He drove up in Kino. Marco was waiting _| front of the cinema, in front of the cinema, © time: ‘before’, ‘ago’ © Wir haben es vor einer Woche gekauft. We bought it tone week ago. © cause or reason © Vor lauter Angst sind wir weggerannt. We were so afraid we ran away. ‘zwischen “between’, amongist)’ “between’, ‘among(st)” Sie sass zwischen mir und meiner Frau. | Sie setzte sich zwischen meine Frau und She was sitting between me and my | mich. She sat down between my wife wife. and me. entlang used with an (+dative)... entlang: | movement alongside or down the movement alongside (but not down —_| middle, following a noun in the the middle) accusative. ‘Sie gingen am Fluss entlang. They _| Sie gingen den Bach entlang. They walked along the river. walked along the stream, Wir fuhren an der Mauer entlang. We | Wirfuhren die Strasse entlang. We drove along the wal. drove along the road. Prepositions with the genitive ‘These are largely restricted to formal written language. In colloquial speech, these prepositions are mostly used with the dative (with a von following the preposition, e.g. ausserhalb von der Stadt instead of ausserhalb der Stadt). (an)statt trotz wahrend ausserhalb oberhalb diesseits instead of Statt eines Briefes schickte er ihr eine E-Mail. Instead of a letter he sent her an e-mail. despite, in spite of during Trotz des Regens fand das Festival statt. The festival took place despite the rain. Wébhrend des Sommers blieben sie in Bozen. They stayed in Bolzano during the summer. because of Sie konnten wegen des Schnees nicht kommen. They could not come because of the snow. outside above on this side of ausserhalb des Hauses - outside the house oberhalb des Hause - above the house diesseits der Grenze - on this side of the border iSLCollective.comMFL Department German AMVC Glinton UK MFL German Assistant Cristina Oriando 2016/2017 innerhalb inside, within | innerhalb Berlins - inside Berlin unterhalb underneath, _| unterhalb des Knies -below the knee below Jenseits onthe other | jenseits des Meeres- on the other side of the sea side unweit not far from | unweit der Stadt -not far from the city angesichts | inview of angesichts der Kalte — in view of the cold anlaisslich onthe occasion | anlésslich ihres Todes ~ on the occasion of her death of beziglich with reference | beziiglich des Briefes - with reference to the letter to hinsichtlich | with regard to _| hinsichtlich der Preise — with regard to the prices kraft by virtue of kroft seiner Autoritat ~ by virtue of his authority Hangs along (side) Kings der Strasse ~ along the road seitens onthe part of _ | seitens des Angeklagten -on the part of the accused ungeachtet | notwithstanding | ungeachtet der Tatsache ~ notwithstanding the fact Prepositional adverbs * Prepositional adverbs are formed by adding da(r)- to a preposition, e.g. damit (with it) or daran (on/at it}. They typically substitute for preposition + third person pronoun, except when the pronouns refers to a person. ©. Wir warten auf den Mann. > Wir warten auf ihn, ‘We're waiting for him. © Wirwarten auf den Computer -> Wir warten darauf. We're waiting for it. ‘The pronoun es is not normally used after prepositions: © Erfreut sich Gber das Geschenk. —-> Er freut sich dariber. He's pleased about it ‘* The prepositional adverb is used to refer to whole sentences. (© Eristin Paris. Anna weiss nichts davon. > He’s in Paris. Anna knows nothing about it, * If motion is involved, separable prefixes with hin- or her- are used. (© Sie erreichten den Tunnel und fuhren hindurch. -> THey reached the tunnel and drove through it. ‘© The prepositional adverb is often used to anticipate a following dass-clause or infinitive clause. © Ichwarte darauf, dass er mich anruft. > I'm waiting for him to call me. ‘© Sle sehnte sich danach, Georg wiederzusehen, > She yearned to see Georg again. * An equivalent compound is formed with wo(r) + preposition, e.g. womit, wovon, woriiber. This is used instead of preposition + was. (©. interrogative pronoun: Wofiir benutzt man dieses Werkzeug? (What do you use this tool for?) (© relative pronoun: Er hat gefragt, woriiber wir gesprochen haben. (He asked what we talked about.) iSLCollective.com