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Der Dativ — The Case After Key Prepositions
📦 Der Dativ — The Case After Key Prepositions
The dative case shows up after a fixed set of prepositions (mit, nach, aus, bei, seit, von, zu) and for indirect objects. Learn the dative articles and that little group of prepositions, and a whole layer of German falls neatly into place.
Dative articles
In the dative, the articles shift. Notice that the masculine and neuter both become dem, and the plural adds an -n to the noun itself.
Earn the mark scheme marks
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- Memorise mit, nach, aus, bei, seit, von, zu as your "dative seven" — chant them until they are automatic.
- For two-way prepositions like in, an, auf, ask yourself: "wo? (position) → dative" or "wohin? (movement) → accusative".
- Watch for the contractions — examiners expect zum, zur, im, am, beim in written German, not the full zu dem, in dem.
❌ Common error: Ich fahre mit der Bus.
✓ Correct: Ich fahre mit dem Bus.
Why it costs marks: Bus is masculine, and mit always takes the dative, so der becomes dem. Using the nominative der after a dative preposition is a very common case error that costs AO3 marks.