Prepositions & Valency

Prepositions look unremarkable, but in the onSET they are one of the most rewarding topics of all: your best friends, not your opponents. Each one pulls a fixed case behind it, and that case reveals the missing ending. If the text shows mit d__, what follows is almost certainly mit dem or mit der, because mit always takes the dative. So you are not guessing, you are calculating.

This page is the complete reference: every preposition with meaning, an example, and the fixed verb-preposition pairs. For the 10-second quick call on which case goes with which preposition, without the full lists, drill specifically in:

Case Triggers: Prepositions (quick call)

In the C-test, the second half of every second word is deleted. Very often the deleted piece is exactly a preposition or the article behind it. This chapter hands you the full reference tables so you can fill those gaps in your sleep. We go group by group: first the prepositions with a fixed case, then the two-way prepositions, then fixed verb-preposition pairs, and finally a quick decision path.

Quick rule: Preposition → the case is fixed: durch/für/gegen/ohne/um → accusative; aus/bei/mit/nach/seit/von/zu → dative. Two-way preposition: wohin? accusative, wo? dative. A verb with a fixed preposition beats everything else.

Prepositions with a Fixed Case

One set of prepositions always takes the same case, no matter what happens in the sentence. Once you know these lists by heart, half the work is done: you see the preposition, you know the case, you insert the matching article ending.

Accusative prepositions. A memory hook for the accusative: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um (or classically "für, durch, gegen, ohne, um, bis, entlang").

Dative prepositions. The classic list to memorise: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu (plus gegenüber). Many learn it as a little chant: "aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu".

Genitive prepositions. These are rarer, but mandatory in written German: wegen, während, trotz, aufgrund (plus innerhalb, außerhalb).

Genitive prepositions are a smaller, more C1-leaning group. If you are short on time, feel free to skim them and focus first on the accusative and dative lists above.

Call them the paperwork prepositions: wegen, während, trotz, and aufgrund show up above all in contracts, forms, and official letters, this is how officials write. That is exactly why they lean C1 and written register rather than spoken everyday German.

Let us look at this with a gap. Watch the article: it reveals the case, and the case reveals the preposition. den Park is accusative, so we need an accusative preposition; der Türkei is dative, so a dative preposition.

The first word is durch (durch + accusative, den Park), the second is aus (aus + dative, der Türkei). That is exactly the detective work: from the visible article backwards to the preposition. Did you feel it? The article whispered the case to you, and the case all but picked the preposition itself.

And the other way round: if the preposition is already there and the article ending is missing, use the genitive when it is a genitive preposition.

des Regens and der Kälte are genitive, so only wegen and trotz fit. mit and bei take the dative and would demand dem Regen, der Kälte.

Two-Way Prepositions: Wohin or Wo?

Nine prepositions are flexible: sometimes accusative, sometimes dative. That sounds tricky, but it comes down to a single question. Wohin? (movement, goal) takes the accusative. Wo? (location, rest) takes the dative. There is nothing more to memorise.

One image covers all nine at once: in, an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen are the room prepositions, they always place you somewhere in relation to something. Picture stepping yourself into a room with each word, then only one question remains: am I on my way there (wohin, accusative) or already standing there (wo, dative)?

As a full sentence: Ich gehe in die Küche. (movement, Wohin?) Ich bin in der Küche. (state, Wo?).

A handy trick with verb pairs: stellen, legen, hängen, setzen (with an accusative object) express movement, so accusative. stehen, liegen, hängen, sitzen express rest, so dative.

Let us try it. In the first sentence we act (Wohin?), in the second we describe a state (Wo?):

Verbs with a Fixed Preposition

Some verbs demand a particular preposition, and that preposition brings its own case. The catch: you cannot derive the combination from meaning alone. You wait for something (accusative), but you take part in something (dative). These pairs are best learned as a fixed block, preposition plus case together.

Here is a gap where the verb dictates the preposition and the case. sich freuen auf is accusative, teilnehmen an is dative (and an dem contracts to am):

And another, where both verbs happen to take the accusative even though the prepositions differ:

Match each verb to its fixed preposition and case:

The Article Ending as the Gap

Often the gap is not the preposition but the article behind it: mit d__, für d__, wegen d__. As soon as you know the case (from the preposition or the verb), all you need is the masculine ending, because that is where the article changes the most. Check yourself before reading on:

The complete table with feminine, neuter, and plural lives in Case Reference: the Article Tables, your reference for all four cases:

Case Reference: the Article Tables (full reference)

Two fine points: in the dative plural the noun gets an extra -n (mit den Kinder**n**). In the genitive masculine and neuter the noun gets an -s or -es (wegen des Mann**es**, während des Film**s**).

Preposition and article often merge into a short form. These contractions appear constantly in the C-test, so it is best to recognise them instantly:

You recognise these contractions fastest in a whole sentence. Fill in the right short form from the word bank:

Quick Decision

When a preposition or its article shows up as a gap, run through this short path. After a little practice it takes under two seconds:

1. What is missing: the preposition or the article? If an article is already there, use its case as a clue to the preposition. If the preposition is there, use it for the article ending.
2. Fixed-case preposition? Check the three lists. für/durch/gegen/ohne/um take the accusative; aus/bei/mit/nach/seit/von/zu take the dative; wegen/während/trotz/aufgrund take the genitive.
3. Two-way preposition? (in, an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen) Ask: Wohin? → accusative. Wo? → dative.
4. Verb with a fixed preposition? Then the verb sets the combination: warten auf (acc), teilnehmen an (dat).
5. Insert the article ending. Take case plus gender into the declension table, read off the ending, done. Finally, check whether a contraction (am, im, zum) sounds more natural.

Common Mistakes

• ❌ Ich gehe in der Schule. → ✓ Ich gehe in die Schule. Why: "Gehen" is movement (Wohin?), so accusative. "In der Schule" would mean you are already there.

• ❌ wegen dem Regen → ✓ wegen des Regens Why: "Wegen" takes the genitive. In written onSET German the dative here is a clear error.

• ❌ Ich warte für den Bus. → ✓ Ich warte auf den Bus. Why: Fixed verb-preposition pair. "Warten" combines with "auf", not "für", even if other languages solve it differently.

• ❌ mit den Kinder → ✓ mit den Kindern Why: In the dative plural the noun gets an extra -n.

Whether you think from the article to the preposition or from the preposition to the article, valency is your compass in both directions. Whichever half is already on the page tells you the other, that is the whole trick of this page.