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### Two-Way Prepositions

German has a special group of prepositions called "two-way prepositions" (*Wechselpräpositionen*). Unlike the prepositions you have learned so far, these can take *either* the Accusative or the Dative case, depending on the context.

### Fixed Locations (Wo?)

When a two-way preposition describes a fixed, non-moving location—answering the question "where?" (*wo?*) with no movement toward a new destination—it always takes the **Dative** case.

As a quick reminder, here is how definite articles change in the Dative case:

| Gender / Number | Definite Article (Dative) |
| --- | --- |
| Masculine / Neuter | **dem** |
| Feminine | **der** |
| Plural | **den** (+ add *-n* to noun) |

German speakers also love to be specific about *how* something is located. Instead of just saying something "is" somewhere, they often use verbs like **stehen** (to stand) for upright objects and **liegen** (to lie) for flat objects.

### On and under: auf, unter

**auf** means "on" or "on top of" (usually a horizontal surface), while **unter** means "under" or "below". Notice how masculine and neuter nouns change to use *dem*.

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### Next to, in front of, and behind: neben, vor, hinter

These prepositions describe position relative to another object. 

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### Above, at, between, and in: über, an, zwischen, in

**über** means "above" or "over" (without necessarily touching).

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While *auf* means "on" a horizontal surface, **an** is used for "at" or "on" a vertical surface (like a wall). The feminine noun *die Wand* (the wall) changes to *der Wand* in the Dative case.

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**zwischen** means "between". When describing something between two distinct objects, both take the Dative case.

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Finally, **in** translates to "in" or "inside".

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

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)

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)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
to stand	stehen
on / to (down/up to a level)	auf
The computer is standing on the table.	Der Computer steht auf dem Tisch.
Is the dog allowed to sleep on the sofa?	Darf der Hund auf dem Sofa schlafen?
the bed	das Bett
The cat is sleeping on the bed.	Die Katze schläft auf dem Bett.
to lie	liegen
under, below	unter
The suitcase is lying under the bed.	Der Koffer liegt unter dem Bett.
next to	neben
Is there a supermarket next to the hotel?	Gibt es einen Supermarkt neben dem Hotel?
in front of	vor
The bus stops in front of the train station.	Der Bus hält vor dem Bahnhof.
behind	hinter
We are playing behind the house.	Wir spielen hinter dem Haus.
over, above	über
The bedroom is above the living room.	Das Schlafzimmer ist über dem Wohnzimmer.
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)	an
the wall	die Wand
The picture is on the wall.	Das Bild ist an der Wand.
between	zwischen
The chair is standing between the bed and the wall.	Der Stuhl steht zwischen dem Bett und der Wand.
The bicycle is standing by the wall.	Das Fahrrad steht an der Wand.
The backpack is lying under the table.	Der Rucksack liegt unter dem Tisch.
The sun is shining over the city.	Die Sonne scheint über der Stadt.
My cell phone is lying next to the sofa.	Mein Handy liegt neben dem Sofa.
We are waiting in front of the cinema.	Wir warten vor dem Kino.
The key is lying behind the laptop.	Der Schlüssel liegt hinter dem Laptop.
The child is standing between the siblings.	Das Kind steht zwischen den Geschwistern.
Is your ticket in the bag?	Ist dein Ticket in der Tasche?
near, close to	in der Nähe von
The post office is near the train station.	Die Post ist in der Nähe von dem Bahnhof.
We live near the school.	Wir wohnen in der Nähe von der Schule.
in the countryside	auf dem Land
We live in the countryside.	Wir wohnen auf dem Land.
It is very beautiful in the countryside.	Auf dem Land ist es sehr schön.

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