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Nominative vs. Accusative in German
German, unlike English, has a case system, which means that nouns, pronouns, and articles change form depending on their role in a sentence. The nominative and accusative are two of these cases.
Nominative
- Function: The subject of the sentence.
- Equivalent in English: The noun or pronoun that performs the action.
- Example: Der Hund bellt. (The dog barks.) – Der Hund is the subject (nominative.
Accusative
- Function: The direct object of the sentence.
- Equivalent in English: The noun or pronoun that receives the action.
- Example: Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.) – Den Hund is the direct object (accusative).
Key differences in article forms:
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
As you can see, the nominative and accusative cases are often distinguished by the article. However, there are exceptions and irregularities, especially with pronouns and adjectives.
Example sentence:
- Der Mann gibt dem Kind einen Apfel. (The man gives the child an apple.)
- Der Mann is the subject (nominative).
- Dem Kind is the indirect object (dative case, not covered here).
- Einen Apfel is the direct object (accusative).
To summarize:
- The nominative case is for the subject of the sentence.
- The accusative case is for the direct object of the sentence.
