Notes On Prepositions

Question 1

Bis

Answer 1

Referring to place bis means as far as/up to
With places and adverbs no article is used
If the following noun has an article, then appropriate preposition
Eg sie ging bis zur Tür
Eg wir sind bis an die Deutsche Grenze gefahren

Bis auf (+akk) means 'down to an including'/'all but'/'except'
Eg bis auf drei kamen um (all but three died)

Question 2

Durch

Answer 2

Referring to place, durch means ‘through’
Eg sie ging durch die Stadt

Durch is also used to express means:
1) can introduce agent/means by through which action carried out
Eg durch harte Arbeit

2) can correspond to ‘by’ with a verbal noun
Die Annahme des Kaisertitels durch den König

3) the prepositional adverb ‘dadurch’ often had sense of ‘thereby’

Question 3

Für

Answer 3

Corresponds to ‘for’ in a wide range of senses

Eg er hat viel für mich getan

Question 4

Gegen

Answer 4

Referring to place/opposition, gegen means against.
Eg er warf den Ball gegen die Mauer

Gegen can indicate direction (eg ‘into’)
Eg er fuhr gegen einen Baum

Gegen can express a contrast (‘contrary to’/’compared with’)
Eg ‘gegen alle Erwartungen’

Gegen can have sense of ‘in exchange for’
Eg er gab mir das Geld gegen eine Quittung

Gegen can express approximation (‘about’)
Eg es war gegen 500 Zuschauer im Saal

Question 5

Ohne

Answer 5

Refers to ‘without’

Question 6

Um

Answer 6

Referring to place, um means around or about
Eg wir standen um den Teich (Pond)

Um can be used to denote a degree of difference (by)
Um zwei Tage verlängern (extend by two days)

Um can convey the idea of ‘in respect of’/’concerning’

Prepositional adverb ‘darum’ used in meaning ‘therefore’/’thereby’

Question 7

Aus

Answer 7

Commonly denotes direction out of or from a place
Eg ‘er kam aus dem Haus’
More often corresponds to ‘from’
Er kommt aus Hamburg

Aus refers to places one has been in, as in origin. Von is used for from with reference to places one has been at (idea of direction)

Aus denotes ‘made of’ referring to materials
Die Kaffeekanne war aus Silber

Aus is used to denote a cause/reason or motive
Sie tat es aus Dankbarkeit

Question 8

Außer

Answer 8

Usually expresses a restriction (expect for/besides)
Eg niemand hat ihn gesehen außer dem Nachtwächter

Also used I meaning ‘out of’ or ‘outside’ mainly in set phrases
Eg außer Betrieb (out of service)

Question 9

Bei

Answer 9

Usually corresponds to ‘by’ or ‘at’ (less precise than ‘an’, meaning ‘in the vicinity of’)

Used with reference to people, bei usually means ‘at the house of’. It is also used to indicate place of employment
Eg sie wohnt bei ihrer Tante

Bei can mean ‘in view of’/’with’ etc
Eg bei den immer steigenden Preisen (in view of constantly rising prices)

Bei can also mean ‘on the occasion of’ or ‘at’
Eg bei dieser Gelegenheit (on this occasion)

Question 10

Gegenüber

Answer 10

Referring to people, gegenüber means opposite

Gegenüber can also express a comparison (compared to) similar to ‘gegen’
Gegenüber meiner Schwester bin ich groß

Gegenüber can mean ‘in relation to’/’in respect of’/’towards’
Eg mein Verhalten Astrid gegenüber

Gegenüber always follows a pronoun
Eg sie saß mir gegenüber

Gegenüber can come before or after a noun. Before the noun is more frequent
Gegenüber dem Rathaus…

Question 11

Mit

Answer 11

Corresponds to ‘with’

Indicates the instrument with which an action was performed
Er hat mit einem Stift geschrieben

German also uses mit for a means of transport
Eg mit dem Zug

Mit is common in phrases involving parts of the body where English does not have a preposition or simply uses a verb
Eg sie hat mich mit dem Fuß gestoßen

Question 12

Nach

Answer 12

Used to denote direction, in the English sense of ‘to’
This is used for neuter countries and towns used without an article (in is used for countries with article)

Points of compass used without article
Eg wir fuhren nach Norden

Adverbs of place
Eg sie ging nach oben

Nach can be used in the sense of ‘towards’/min the direction of’
Eg ich sah nach der Tür

Nach can also be used in the sense of according to/judging by
Eg nach meiner Uhr (by my watch)

Question 13

Von

Answer 13

Indicates direction from a place ich fuhr von Frankfurt nach München

Von can be strengthened by adding aus after the noun to emphasise point of origin
Eg Von meinem Fenster aus kann ich die Kirche sehen

Question 14

Zu

Answer 14

Expresses direction (common equivalent for ‘to’) particularly:

Going to someone’s house
Going to a place or occasion

Zu is also used in set phrases such as ‘zu Hause’ (at home) and ‘zu beiden Seiten’ (on either side)

Zu is usual equivalent of ‘for’ to express purpose
Eg zu diesem Zweck (for this purpose)
This is common with an infinitive used as a noun

Zu can express a mental attitude to something
(This is frequent with adjectives)
Sie war nett zu mir

Zu can also be used to indicate price or measure with numbers
Eg 10 Stück Seife zu je £4

Question 15

Prepositions governing dative or accusative

Answer 15

The accusative case is used with a phrase expressing the direction in which someone or something is moving or being put.
Eg ‘ich hänge das Bild an die Wald’

Even if direction is involved, dative is used if there is no movement in relation to person/thing denoted by following noun
Eg er ging neben seiner Frau (walking next to wife)

Dative is usual with verbs of arriving/appearing/disappearing
Eg Sie kamen am Bahnhof an

Verbs with the prefix ‘ein’ are often used with ‘in’ and noun phrase in accusative

Question 16

An

Answer 16

With Dative, means ‘on (the side of) or ‘on (the underside of). An with accusative is used if this is destination.

An + dative can also be used with academic and other institutions where a person is employed
Eg sie lehrt an der Universität

An + accusative can indicate indefinite quantities (here definite article follows)
Eg er verdient an die 5000 pro Monat

Question 17

Auf

Answer 17

Auf + dative is ‘on top of’ and auf + akk is used if this is destination.

Auf + dative is used for ‘at’/’in’ for formal occasions
E.g ich traf sie auf einem Empfang

Auf+akk is used for language (eg auf Deutsch)

Question 18

Entlang

Answer 18

Indicates position alongside an extended object (along)
Eg ‘entlang der Bahnlinie’

With akk, indicates movement alongside an extended object or down the middle of road/river

‘An (+ dative) … entlang’ is a common alternative to simple entlang.

Entlang is used a lot less frequently than ‘along’. ‘An’ is more common
Eg ‘an der Küste’

Question 19

Hinter

Answer 19

Corresponds to ‘behind’ or ‘beyond’
Eg ‘Der Wagen steht hinter der Garage’

Used with Akkusativ, hinter indicates direction
Eg ‘we fuhr den Wagen hinter die Garage’

To indicate movement in relation to another person or thing, ‘her’ is also used
Eg er rannte hinter ihr her (he was running after her)

Question 20

Neben

Answer 20

Corresponds to ‘next to’ or ‘beside’

To indicate relation of movement to another person or thing moving in the same direction, neben is used with following ‘her’
Eg ‘we ging neben seiner Frau her’

Neben + Dativ can be used in the sense of ‘besides’ or ‘apart from’ (similar to ‘ausser’)
Eg ‘neben zwei Franzosen waren all Anwesenden aus Deutschland’

Neben + Dativ can also be used to express comparison (common alternative to gegen/gegenüber)
Eg neben ihrer Mutter ist sie Groß’

Question 21

Über

Answer 21

Corresponds to ‘over’/’above’ or across/beyond
Das Bild hängt über meinem Tisch

With movement, über can also refer to ‘via’

Über + Akkusativ can also refer to ‘about’ or ‘concerning’
Eg ‘ein Buch über die europäischen Vogelarten’

Question 22

Unter

Answer 22

With reference to place, ‘unter’ corresponds to underneath/beneath/below

Unter + Dativ is also used for ‘amongst’
Eg ‘hier bist du unter Freunden’

Unter + Dativ is used to indicate circumstances
Eg ‘unter diesen Umständen’ (under these circumstances)

Question 23

Vor

Answer 23

Corresponds to ‘in front of’ or ‘ahead of’

Vor + Dative can also indicate cause or reason
(Usually without following article)
Eg man könnte vor Lärm nichts hören

Aus points to voluntary cause/action but vor always expresses a cause which is involuntary

Vor sich hin means to oneself
Eg Sie las vor sich hin (she was reading to herself)

Question 24

Zwischen

Answer 24

Refers to ‘between’

To indicate relation of movement to another person or thing moving in the same direction, zwischen (+ Dativ) is used with her
Ich ging zwischen meinen Eltern her

Question 25

(An)statt

Answer 25

Refers to instead of
Eg statt eines Fernseher, habe ich mich eine neuen Stereosnlage gekauft

Can also be used as a conjunction
Eg ich besuchte meinen Onkel statt meinen Bruder.

Question 26

Trotz

Answer 26

Refers to despite/in spite of

Question 27

Wegen

Answer 27

Refers to because of/for the sake of

Eg wegen des Regen, konnten wir nicht kommen

Question 28

German equivalents for ‘to’

Answer 28

In is used for going to places which one will then be inside

Auf is used for going to certain places/events (where one would use ‘auf + dative’ to say you’re at them). Also used for formal occasions (parties/weddings etc) and certain public buildings

An expresses direction to a precise spot or objects which extend lengthways (eg rivers)

Zu is used if one is just going up to the place involved but not inside. Also commonly used instead of auf for parties etc.
Zu is always used for people