The accusative: den, einen, and the direct object
Learn how German marks the direct object: the masculine article changes from der to den and from ein to einen, and nothing else moves.
The cases · Beginner · 20 min · 40 exercises · Goethe A1, High school, College
In the sentence The woman sees the dog, the woman does the action: she is the subject. The dog receives the action: it is the direct object. English shows the difference only with word order and with a few pronouns (he sees him, not he sees he). German shows it on the article. The subject is in the nominative (der Nominativ), the form you already know. The direct object is in the accusative (der Akkusativ).
Only the masculine changes
Good news: in the accusative, only masculine nouns change their article. der becomes den, ein becomes einen, kein becomes keinen. Feminine, neuter and plural articles are exactly the same as in the nominative. So the only question to ask is: is my direct object a der-word? If yes, add the -en.
Nominative and accusative side by side
| Gender | Nominative (subject) | Accusative (direct object) |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | der / ein / kein Hund | den / einen / keinen Hund |
| Feminine | die / eine / keine Katze | die / eine / keine Katze |
| Neuter | das / ein / kein Buch | das / ein / kein Buch |
| Plural | die / keine Bücher | die / keine Bücher |
Subject or direct object?
- Der Hund ist klein. Ich sehe den Hund.The dog is small. I see the dog.subject: der, direct object: den
- Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester.I have a brother and a sister.masculine einen, feminine eine (no change)
- Wir kaufen das Buch.We are buying the book.neuter: no change
- Lena braucht einen Stift.Lena needs a pen.der Stift, so einen
- Er trinkt keinen Kaffee.He does not drink coffee.der Kaffee, so keinen
- Ich möchte einen Apfel, bitte.I would like an apple, please.the polite form ich möchte takes an accusative
Verbs that take an accusative
Most German verbs take a direct object in the accusative. Learn these first: haben (to have), brauchen (to need), kaufen (to buy), sehen (to see), essen (to eat), trinken (to drink), suchen (to look for) and the polite form ich möchte (I would like). Note that suchen needs no preposition: Ich suche den Schlüssel (I am looking for the key).
Es gibt + accusative
Es gibt means there is or there are. It never changes, and the thing that exists is always in the accusative: Hier gibt es einen Park (There is a park here). Gibt es hier einen Bahnhof? (Is there a train station here?). English speakers expect a nominative after there is, so watch the masculine.
sein + nominative
- both sides are the same thing
- Das ist ein Park.
- Hier ist ein Bahnhof.
es gibt + accusative
- the thing that exists is an object
- Es gibt einen Park.
- Hier gibt es einen Bahnhof.
The question words wer, wen and was
| Question word | It asks about | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wer? (who) | a person, subject | Wer kommt? Der Lehrer kommt. |
| wen? (whom) | a person, direct object | Wen siehst du? Ich sehe den Lehrer. |
| was? (what) | a thing, subject or object | Was kaufst du? Ich kaufe einen Stift. |
Remember the masculine -n: den, einen, keinen, wen. English does the same thing with pronouns: he becomes him, who becomes whom. When you are not sure, test with a pronoun in English: if you would say him and not he, you need the accusative.
The verb sein never takes an accusative, because nothing receives an action: both sides are the same person or thing. Say Das ist ein Tisch, never Das ist einen Tisch. Second trap: thanks to den, the object can stand first in German. Den Hund sieht die Frau still means The woman sees the dog. Trust the article, not the position.
The exercises of this lesson
40 corrected exercises in three sessions (discovery, practice, challenge): multiple choice (5), fill in the gap (11), find the mistake (5), word order (1), rewrite (5), translation (6), gap text (3), matching (2), sorting (2). Every answer is corrected immediately, with the rule that applies.