Preposition + Article Contractions | German Grammar

German routinely fuses a preposition with a following definite article into a single word: in dem becomes im, zu der becomes zur, an das becomes ans. English has nothing quite like this — at most it has informal blends like gonna — so learners tend either to avoid contractions (which sounds stilted) or to use them in the one place they are forbidden. This page covers which fusions exist, when they are required, and the subtle meaning difference between im Haus and in dem Haus.

The key idea is that contraction is not just a casual shortcut. In modern German it is the default for a non-stressed, purely referential article. Keeping the preposition and article apart is what's marked — it signals that the article is being used demonstratively, almost like a pointing finger: in DEM Haus ("in that house").

The common contractions

These are the everyday fusions you will hear and read constantly. The most frequent ones are effectively obligatory in normal speech and writing:

Preposition + article	Contraction	Example
in + dem	im	im Haus (in the house)
in + das	ins	ins Kino (to the cinema)
an + dem	am	am Montag (on Monday)
an + das	ans	ans Meer (to the seaside)
zu + dem	zum	zum Arzt (to the doctor)
zu + der	zur	zur Schule (to school)
bei + dem	beim	beim Bäcker (at the baker's)
von + dem	vom	vom Bahnhof (from the station)

Wir gehen heute Abend ins Kino.

We're going to the cinema tonight.

Ich muss morgen zum Arzt.

I have to go to the doctor tomorrow.

Am Montag fängt die Schule wieder an.

School starts again on Monday.

Die Kinder sind schon im Bett.

The kids are already in bed.

There is also a longer tail of rarer contractions, common in informal speech but more variable in writing. These lean informal, and you will see them written mostly in casual or dialogue contexts:

Preposition + article	Contraction	Register
auf + das	aufs	informal–neutral
für + das	fürs	informal–neutral
durch + das	durchs	informal
um + das	ums	informal
über + das	übers	informal
unter + dem	unterm	informal/colloquial
hinter + dem	hinterm	informal/colloquial
vor + dem	vorm	colloquial

Pass aufs Auto auf!

Watch out for the car!

Danke fürs Mitnehmen!

Thanks for the lift!

Die Katze sitzt unterm Tisch.

The cat is sitting under the table. (colloquial)

Note all of these are written as single lowercase words — im, ins, zum, zur, am, ans, beim, vom, aufs, fürs. They are never hyphenated or apostrophized in standard spelling (you may see auf's in casual writing, but it is non-standard).

When contraction is the default — and full forms sound marked

For an ordinary, non-emphatic definite article, contraction is simply how German speaks. Using the full form where a contraction is expected sounds heavy and old-fashioned:

Sie arbeitet im Krankenhaus.

She works at the hospital.

Er kommt gerade vom Training.

He's just coming back from training.

You would not normally say in dem Krankenhaus or von dem Training here — there is nothing to point at or contrast, so the contraction is required-by-naturalness.

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If the article is just doing its ordinary job — pointing at something already known, not contrasting it with anything — contract it. Full forms after these prepositions sound stilted unless you mean to stress the article.

When the article must stay separate

This is the rule competitors most often omit, and it is the genuinely insightful one. Contraction is impossible when the article is stressed or demonstrative. When dem or das is doing the work of this/that, pointing emphatically, it cannot fuse — it needs to stand alone so it can carry stress:

In DEM Haus will ich wohnen, nicht in dem anderen.

It's THAT house I want to live in, not the other one.

Genau an dem Tag hat es angefangen zu schneien.

It was on exactly that day that it started to snow.

Here dem is referential-by-pointing — that specific house, that exact day — and fusing it into im or am would strip away the emphasis. So the meaning split is real:

im Haus = "in the house" (neutral, referential)
in dem Haus = "in that house" (demonstrative, contrastive)

Wir treffen uns am Bahnhof.

We'll meet at the station. (the usual one — contracted)

Wir treffen uns an dem Bahnhof, wo wir uns kennengelernt haben.

We'll meet at the (very) station where we first met. (demonstrative — uncontracted)

The full form is also kept when the article introduces a relative clause that pins down a specific referent, as in that last example — an dem Bahnhof, wo... — because the article there is doing demonstrative work.

A quick contrast set

Ich gehe zur Bank.

I'm going to the bank. (everyday errand — contracted)

Ich gehe zu der Bank, die du mir empfohlen hast.

I'm going to the (specific) bank you recommended. (demonstrative — uncontracted)

The first is a routine trip; the second points at one particular bank, so the article stays separate.

Common Mistakes

1. Avoiding contractions and overusing full forms. Spelling everything out sounds bookish and unnatural in speech.

❌ Ich fahre zu dem Bahnhof und gehe dann in das Café.

Grammatically possible but stilted for a neutral statement.

✅ Ich fahre zum Bahnhof und gehe dann ins Café.

I'm going to the station and then into the café.

2. Contracting where the article is demonstrative. When you mean that specific one, the article must stay separate.

❌ Im Haus will ich wohnen, nicht im anderen.

Incorrect — the contrast requires the stressed, separate article.

✅ In dem Haus will ich wohnen, nicht in dem anderen.

It's that house I want to live in, not the other one.

3. Contracting across a relative clause antecedent. When the article sets up a relative clause identifying a specific thing, keep it full.

❌ Das ist die Schule, zur ich gegangen bin.

Incorrect — needs the full demonstrative-style article.

✅ Das ist die Schule, zu der ich gegangen bin.

That's the school I went to.

4. Writing the contraction with an apostrophe. Standard German contractions are plain single words.

❌ Wir gehen in's Kino.

Incorrect spelling — no apostrophe.

✅ Wir gehen ins Kino.

We're going to the cinema.

5. Inventing contractions that don't exist. Not every preposition + article fuses; mit dem, for instance, does not contract in standard German (no mim).

❌ Ich fahre mim Bus.

Incorrect — mit + dem does not contract in standard German.

✅ Ich fahre mit dem Bus.

I'm going by bus.

Key Takeaways

Common, obligatory contractions: im, ins, am, ans, zum, zur, beim, vom; rarer/informal ones: aufs, fürs, durchs, ums, übers, unterm, hinterm, vorm.
All are written as single lowercase words with no apostrophe.
For a neutral, referential article, contraction is the default — full forms sound stilted.
Keep the article separate when it is stressed, demonstrative ("that house"), or sets up an identifying relative clause: im Haus (the house) vs in dem Haus (that house).
Not every combination fuses — mit dem stays apart.

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