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When talking about rules, regulations, and standards in the workplace, you often need to say that something is done "according to" or "in accordance with" a specific guideline. In German, you use the preposition **gemäß**.

### The Dative Case

**Gemäß** always requires the Dative case. Like most prepositions, it usually sits right before the noun it modifies. For example, with the neuter noun *das Handbuch* (the manual), you use the Dative article *dem*:

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### Flexible Positioning

What makes **gemäß** unique is its flexibility: it can also be placed *after* the noun it modifies. This is called a postposition. This placement is very common in formal or written German, and the meaning does not change at all.

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Regardless of whether you place **gemäß** before or after the noun, the noun always stays in the Dative case. 

Here it is positioned before a feminine noun (*die Norm* becomes *der Norm*):

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And here it is positioned after a masculine noun (*der Standard* becomes *dem Standard*):

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### In Context

Because **gemäß** is so closely tied to rules and compliance, you will see it constantly when discussing safety gear, protocols, and proper procedures. It works seamlessly alongside other complex sentence structures, like infinitive clauses (*anstatt ... zu*).

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The preposition according to (gemäß)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
according to / in accordance with (rules, standards)	gemäß
the manual	das Handbuch
the procedure	das Verfahren
According to the manual, this procedure is safe.	Gemäß dem Handbuch ist dieses Verfahren sicher.
to act	handeln
the guideline	die Richtlinie
He acts according to the guideline.	Er handelt der Richtlinie gemäß.
the norm	die Norm
We always act according to the norm.	Wir handeln immer gemäß der Norm.
the helmet	der Helm
the standard	der Standard
The helmet was tested according to the standard.	Der Helm wurde dem Standard gemäß geprüft.
We must work according to the guideline, instead of acting fast.	Wir müssen der Richtlinie gemäß arbeiten, anstatt schnell zu handeln.
the works council	der Betriebsrat
According to the works council, the helmets are too expensive.	Gemäß dem Betriebsrat sind die Helme zu teuer.
the protective clothing	die Schutzkleidung
According to the manual, you must always wear the protective clothing.	Gemäß dem Handbuch musst du immer die Schutzkleidung tragen.
The works council changed the standard without asking the boss.	Der Betriebsrat hat den Standard geändert, ohne den Chef zu fragen.
The protective clothing was produced according to the new norm.	Die Schutzkleidung wurde gemäß der neuen Norm produziert.
He always checks the procedure according to the guideline.	Er prüft das Verfahren immer gemäß der Richtlinie.