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### Two-Way Prepositions and Destination

In German, a special group of prepositions—such as *in*, *auf*, *unter*, and *neben*—are known as "two-way prepositions" (Wechselpräpositionen). They can take either the accusative or the dative case.

When you are expressing motion *towards* a destination—answering the question **Wohin?** (Where to?)—you use the **Accusative** case for the noun following the preposition.

Remember your accusative definite articles: masculine *der* changes to *den*; feminine *die* and neuter *das* do not change.

### Laying Flat (legen)

Use the verb **legen** when you are laying or putting something down flat. Notice how *auf* (on) and *unter* (under) are followed by accusative nouns.

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### Placing Upright (stellen)

If you are setting something down in an upright position, use the verb **stellen**. The destination requires the accusative case, shown here with *auf* and *zwischen* (between).

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### Hanging (hängen)

The verb **hängen** (to hang) works the same way. When you hang an object in a new spot, you are moving it to a destination. Here are examples using *in* (into), *an* (on a vertical surface), and *über* (over/above).

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### Moving to a Destination

This rule applies to any action that moves someone or something to a new place. Whether someone is running, walking, or throwing an item, if there is a destination, the two-way preposition takes the accusative.

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

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)

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)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
to lay / to put (flat)	legen
the floor / the ground	der Boden
I am putting the book on the floor.	Ich lege das Buch auf den Boden.
the carpet / the rug	der Teppich
Where are we putting the rug?	Wohin legen wir den Teppich?
We are putting the rug under the table.	Wir legen den Teppich unter den Tisch.
the wastebasket	der Papierkorb
Are you throwing the trash into the wastebasket?	Werfen Sie den Müll in den Papierkorb?
to place / to put (upright)	stellen
the desk	der Schreibtisch
He is putting the computer on the desk.	Er stellt den Computer auf den Schreibtisch.
I am putting the wastebasket between the bed and the desk.	Ich stelle den Papierkorb zwischen das Bett und den Schreibtisch.
the shelf	das Regal
I am not putting the chair next to the shelf.	Ich stelle den Stuhl nicht neben das Regal.
to hang	hängen
She is hanging the dress in the closet.	Sie hängt das Kleid in den Schrank.
the mirror	der Spiegel
We are hanging the mirror on the wall.	Wir hängen den Spiegel an die Wand.
The woman is hanging the picture over the bed.	Die Frau hängt das Bild über das Bett.
the curtain	der Vorhang
Are you hanging the curtain in front of the window?	Hängt ihr den Vorhang vor das Fenster?
The cat is running behind the curtain.	Die Katze läuft hinter den Vorhang.
Why are you throwing the jacket on the floor?	Warum wirfst du die Jacke auf den Boden?
The dog is going behind the sofa.	Der Hund geht hinter das Sofa.
She is putting the book in the shelf.	Sie legt das Buch in das Regal.
I am hanging the mirror on the wall.	Ich hänge den Spiegel an die Wand.
the north	der Norden
In the north it is cold.	Im Norden ist es kalt.
We are driving north.	Wir fahren nach Norden.
the south	der Süden
In the south it is warm.	Im Süden ist es warm.
They are flying south.	Sie fliegen in den Süden.
the east	der Osten
The sun comes from the east.	Die Sonne kommt aus dem Osten.
The city lies in the east.	Im Osten liegt die Stadt.
the west	der Westen
We are driving west.	Wir fahren nach Westen.
The sun is shining in the west.	Im Westen scheint die Sonne.
to the (an + das)	ans
She walks to the window.	Sie geht ans Fenster.
He hangs the picture on the shelf.	Er hängt das Bild ans Regal.
onto the (auf + das)	aufs
Put the book on the bed.	Leg das Buch aufs Bett.
I am putting the cup onto the shelf.	Ich stelle die Tasse aufs Regal.

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