Two-Way Prepositions

The following two-way prepositions are called Wechselprpositionen in German (from the
verb wechseln, to change). Theyre accusative when they express motion/direction, and dative
when they express only location:
I put the book on the table. The book is on the table.
ACC DAT

ENGL I S H
SAMP L E U S A G E AND NOTES
EQUI VA L E N T ( S )

Setz dich an den Tisch. [ACC]

Sit down at the table.

ein Bild an die Wand hngen [ACC]

an at, on to hang a picture on the wall

Das Bild hngt an der Wand. [DAT]

The picture hangs (is hanging) on the
wall.

auf den Berg steigen [ACC]

to climb up the mountain

eine Vase auf den Tisch stellen [ACC]

auf on, up
to set a vase down on the table

Die Vase steht auf dem Tisch. [DAT]

The vase is (standing) on the table.

an vs. auf: The word auf implies a position on top of something;

an is more like "beside" or suspended from.

hinter behind
ein Blick hinter die Kulissen [ACC]
a glimpse behind the scenes

Was passiert hinter den Kulissen? [DAT]

 What's happening behind the scenes?

Die Kinder gehen in die Schule. [ACC]

The kids are going to school.
into, to [ACC]
in
in [DAT]
Was hast du in der Schule gelernt? [DAT]
What did you learn in school?

Komm, setz dich neben mich. [ACC]

Come sit down next to me.
neben next to (not just near)
Der Platz neben mir ist frei. [DAT]
The seat next to me is free.

Der Zug fuhr ber die Brcke. [ACC]

The train went over the bridge.
over, above
Die Sonne hing ber dem Meer [DAT]
ber The sun hung over the sea.

Wir redeten ber den Film. [ACC]

about We talked about the movie.

Schau unters Bett vorm Schlafengehen

[ACC]
Look under the bed before going to
under, below sleep.

Ein Monster versteckt sich unterm Bett.

[DAT]
unter A monster is hiding under the bed.

ein Schaf unter Wlfen [DAT]

a sheep among wolves
among
unter anderem (u.a.) [DAT]
among other things / inter alia

vor in front of
Ich stellte mich vors Mikro(fon). [ACC]
 I went up to the microphone.

Der Tisch steht vor dem Fenster. [DAT]

The table is in front of the window.

of Angst vor Hhe [DAT]

fear of heights

Ich muss es vorm Wochenende machen

before [DAT]
I have to do it before the weekend.

etwas zwischen die Finger bekommen

[ACC]
to get a hold of something
(literally, between one's fingers)
zwischen between
zwischen den Jahren [DAT]
between the years
(German expression for the time between
Christmas and New Years)

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