Some German prepositions always force the noun after them into the accusative, no matter what the sentence means. These are the accusative prepositions, and they form a small, fixed, memorizable list. Unlike the notorious two-way prepositions (in, an, auf, unter…), which switch between accusative and dative depending on whether there's motion, these prepositions never alternate. There is no test to apply, no meaning to interpret. Once you know a preposition is on this list, the case is automatic. That makes them, paradoxically, some of the easiest grammar in German — provided you actually memorize the list.
The list — learn it as a chant
The core five, plus three less frequent members, are traditionally drilled as a rhythmic chant so they stick:
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um — (bis, entlang, wider)
| Preposition | Core meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| durch | through | durch den Park |
| für | for | für den Mann |
| gegen | against; around (time) | gegen die Wand |
| ohne | without | ohne einen Plan |
| um | around; at (clock time) | um den Tisch |
| bis | until, up to | bis nächsten Montag |
| entlang | along (often postposed) | den Fluss entlang |
| wider | against (formal/literary) | wider besseres Wissen |
Many teachers shorten this to the mnemonic FUDGO (für, um, durch, gegen, ohne) or DOGFU — pick whatever order lets you rattle off the core five without thinking.
The case is automatic — meaning is irrelevant
This is the crucial point that distinguishes these from two-way prepositions. With in or auf, you have to ask "motion or location?" to choose the case. With an accusative preposition, you ask nothing. The accusative follows whether the phrase expresses motion, a static relationship, a beneficiary, or an abstraction.
Wir gehen durch den Park.
We're walking through the park. (motion — accusative)
Das Geschenk ist für den Mann von nebenan.
The present is for the man next door. (recipient — accusative)
Das Auto fuhr gegen die Wand.
The car drove into the wall. (collision — accusative)
Ohne dich macht es keinen Spaß.
It's no fun without you. (absence — accusative)
Alle saßen um den Tisch und lachten.
Everyone was sitting around the table, laughing. (static arrangement — still accusative)
That last example is worth pausing on: um den Tisch describes a static, motionless situation, yet it is firmly accusative — because um is on the list, full stop. A learner who has internalized the two-way "no motion → dative" rule will be tempted to write um dem Tisch, and that's wrong. The list overrides any motion logic.
With pronouns
Because the accusative is forced, pronouns after these prepositions take their accusative forms (mich, dich, ihn, sie, uns, euch). Masculine ihn is again the clearest signal.
Dieses Lied ist für dich.
This song is for you.
Ohne ihn wären wir verloren.
Without him we'd be lost.
Hast du etwas gegen sie?
Do you have something against her / them?
(Note: when the object is a thing rather than a person, German usually prefers a da-compound — dafür, dagegen, dadurch — instead of für es, gegen es. So "I'm for it" is Ich bin dafür, not Ich bin für es.)
Contractions
In everyday German, several accusative prepositions fuse with a following neuter or masculine article. These contractions are standard and natural — use them in speech and informal writing.
| Full form | Contraction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| durch das | durchs | durchs Fenster |
| für das | fürs | fürs Erste |
| um das | ums | ums Leben |
Sie kletterte durchs Fenster.
She climbed through the window.
Fürs Erste reicht das.
That's enough for now.
The preposition bis behaves a little differently: it very often pairs with a second preposition that then governs the case — most commonly bis zu (taking the dative because zu is a dative preposition): bis zum Bahnhof (up to the station), bis zur nächsten Ecke (to the next corner). When bis stands alone before a bare noun — especially times and dates — the accusative shows: bis nächsten Montag, bis nächstes Jahr.
Wir fahren mit dem Bus bis zum Bahnhof.
We'll take the bus as far as the station. (bis zu → dative zum)
Bis nächsten Freitag muss der Bericht fertig sein.
The report has to be done by next Friday. (bis + bare accusative)
A note on entlang and wider
Entlang ("along") usually comes after its noun and takes the accusative there: den Fluss entlang (along the river), die Straße entlang. Wider ("against," in the sense of "contrary to") is (formal/literary) and survives mostly in fixed phrases like wider Willen (against one's will) and wider besseres Wissen (against one's better judgment). Don't confuse it with the everyday adverb wieder ("again") — different word, different spelling.
Common mistakes
❌ Das ist ein Geschenk für der Mann.
Incorrect — 'für' always takes the accusative, so masculine becomes 'den': für den Mann.
✅ Das ist ein Geschenk für den Mann.
That's a present for the man.
❌ Ich kann nicht ohne dir leben.
Incorrect — 'ohne' is an accusative preposition, so the pronoun is 'dich', not dative 'dir'.
✅ Ich kann nicht ohne dich leben.
I can't live without you.
❌ Alle saßen um dem Tisch.
Incorrect — 'um' always governs the accusative; the static meaning does not trigger the dative. It's 'um den Tisch'.
✅ Alle saßen um den Tisch.
Everyone was sitting around the table.
❌ Wir gingen durch dem Wald.
Incorrect — 'durch' takes the accusative regardless of motion: durch den Wald.
✅ Wir gingen durch den Wald.
We walked through the forest.
❌ Bist du für es oder dagegen?
Awkward — for a thing/idea, German uses a da-compound: dafür, not 'für es'.
✅ Bist du dafür oder dagegen?
Are you for it or against it?
Key takeaways
- The accusative prepositions are a closed, memorized list: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um (plus bis, entlang, wider). Drill them as a chant.
- The case is automatic — there is no motion test and no alternation, unlike the two-way prepositions. Identify the preposition, and the accusative follows.
- Watch masculine, where the change is visible: für den Mann, gegen ihn, ohne ihn.
- Use the standard contractions durchs, fürs, ums in everyday German.
- Bis usually teams up with zu (→ dative: bis zum Bahnhof) but takes the bare accusative before times: bis nächsten Montag. Compare with the dative prepositions and the accusative case overview.
Now practice German
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- The Accusative CaseA1 — The accusative marks the direct object — and because only masculine articles visibly change, masculine 'den/einen' is the system's single biggest stumbling block.
- Prepositions That Take the DativeA2 — The fixed set of prepositions that always govern the dative case, the obligatory contractions, and the nach/zu and aus/von splits.
- Accusative Prepositions in UseA2 — The meanings and idioms of durch, für, gegen, ohne and um across space, time and abstraction — including the precise um/gegen split for clock time and the bare-noun rule after ohne.
- Preposition + Article ContractionsA2 — How German fuses prepositions with definite articles into single words like im, ins, zum, and zur — when the contraction is obligatory and when keeping them apart signals a demonstrative.
- Two-Way Prepositions: Spatial MeaningsB1 — What the nine two-way prepositions actually mean in space — and why German splits 'on/at/in' three ways with an, auf, and in.