21. September

Hausaufgaben: Paket fertig machen! Finish your packet on prepositions.

Wiederholung: Wechselpraepositionen - die Regel

Arbeitsblatt: Wechselpräpositionen 1

an auf hinter in neben über unter vor zwischen These prepositions take either the accusative or the the dative case. 1. Use accusative if there is a significant change of location/position. In other words, if the action has moved from one place to a different place, or a specific "border" has been crossed. 2. Use dative if the former does not occur, i.e. if the action is occurring in a confined, defined space. Helpful ways to think about this: 1. English speakers usually distinguish between "in" and "into" in such sentences as: The dog ran into the house. He moved into high circles. The dog is in the house. He moved in high circles. 2. Most of the time, however, English speakers do not make this distinction, e.g.: The dog ran under the car. The dog is under the car. In this case, English does not distinguish between the "in"-situation and the "into"-situation. German makes this distinction (when using the two-way prepositions) by taking accusative for "into"-situations and dative for "in"-situations, e.g.: Der Hund läuft unter das Auto. The dog is running under the car. Der Hund liegt unter dem Auto. The dog is lying under the car. Additional notes: 1. an and auf an describes an area "leaning against and touching" or "by or at" the point of reference, e.g.: Sie sitzen an dem Tisch. They are sitting "up against" or "at" the table. auf describes an area "on top of" the point of reference, e.g.: Sie sitzen auf dem Tisch. They are sitting on top of the table. 2. Some prepositions may have meanings beyond their "locational" ones, e.g. Sie studiert an der Universität von Wisconsin. She studies at the University of Wisconsin. 3. Wo and Wohin Wo means simply "where" -- a static location that is not in motion. Wohin means "to where" -- into which location is the object moving. When using a motion verb (and therefore using the accusative with the two-way prepositions), you must use "wohin" rather than the stationary "wo". Wo bist du? Where are you? Wohin gehst du? Where are you going?