German Prepositions: Place & Verb Combinations

Prepositions of place in German are all those prepositions that introduce a place complement. We recognize this type of complement because it answers one of the following questions:

• Wo? ( where? ): gives us information about where an action occurs;
• Woher? ( from where? ): adds information about where something or someone comes from;
• Wohin? ( where to? ): specifies in which direction, real or metaphorical, something or someone is going

The prepositions of place in German are an, auf, über, aus, von, in.

AN - which means at or in depending on the case - is used to indicate proximity to a specific object, or to mean "at the edge," "on the border," or "in the vicinity of a specific place." An example:

• I sitze an meinem Schreibtisch. = I am sitting at my desk.

The preposition AUF -which has the meaning of on/above the- is used to indicate that something is on top of something else in the case of open and flat spaces, or in the case where there is contact between the two elements:

• Das Notizbuch liegt auf dem Tisch. = The notebook is on the table (there is contact between the two elements)
• Du hast a Brille auf dem Kopf. = You have glasses on your head.

The preposition Ü BER - which always means above - is used instead to indicate two elements, one of which is above the other, but without contact . It is therefore used to indicate elevation or upward movement:

• Der Himmel ist über dem Meer. = The sky is above the sea (there is no contact between the two elements)
• Mein Chef steht über meinem Vorgesetzten. = My boss is above my manager (we can use the preposition to mean "above" even metaphorically speaking)

We use the preposition AUS -which means "from"-to indicate a subject's origin , but also a movement from inside to outside. AUS is also used when we want to introduce a complement of motion to a place or state in a place, when we have nouns that require the preposition "in."

• Ich komme aus Madrid. = I come from Madrid / I am from Madrid.

VON - which always means "from" - is used to indicate provenance , or the origin of a movement or process.

• Papier entsteht bei der Verarbeitung von Zellulose. = Paper is produced during the processing of cellulose.

Finally, we use the preposition IN , meaning "in" - to indicate closed spaces , the inside of buildings, the cardinal points, something that is around the speaker but also panoramas, mountains and fields.

• In Konditoreien riecht es immer nach Parfüm. = There is always perfume in pastry shops.
• Warst du jemals in diesem Kino? = Have you ever been to this cinema?

What we've seen so far are the simplest cases we can encounter, namely, complements of time and place. If you want to take your linguistic knowledge to the next level, however, you'll also need to recognize and apply prepositions that introduce other types of complements, such as those of cause, manner, or specification.

To do this, we need to delve into the topic of verbs with prepositions in German. You should know that in this language, there are some verbs that are always followed by a preposition, which serves to introduce the complement and which, based on its nature, allows us to choose in which case to decline the complement.

Excluding the nominative, which obviously cannot introduce any type of complement, we can come across one of these three possibilities:

• Preposition with accusative
• Preposition with dative
• Preposition with genitive

Verbs with preposition + accusative

Let's start with the German verbs with prepositions that take the accusative.

There are some that are followed by the preposition AN :

• denken an = to think about
• glauben an = to believe in
• schreiben an = write to
• sich wenden an = to turn to (sich is the particle that we find before a verb that indicates that it is a reflexive verb)
• sich gewöhnen an = get used to
• sich erinnern an = to remember
• liefern an = to deliver to
• beteiligen an = participate in

Some, however, are followed by AUF :

• hoffen auf = to hope in
• reagieren auf = react to
• antworten auf = answer to
• aufpassen auf = pay attention to
• sich beziehen auf = refer to
• sich vorbereiten auf = prepare for
• warten auf = to wait for someone or something
• sich freuen auf = to be happy for
• ankommen auf = to depend on

Some accusative verbs are followed by IN :

• sich verlieben in = to fall in love with
• ubersetzen in = translate into
• sich verwandeln in = to transform into

Some verbs are followed by the preposition Ü BER :

• lachen über = to laugh at
• sich ärgern über = to get angry about
• sich beklagen über = to complain about
• siegen über = to win against
• sprechen über = to talk about/about/about
• nachdenken über = reflect on

Finally, some German verbs with prepositions take the accusative if followed by UM :

• bitten um = to ask for something
• sich handeln um = to deal with
• sich arisen um = to worry about/for
• sich streiten um = to argue about
• gehen um = to be about

And now let's see which prepositions use the dative in German. Be careful, because, as we'll see, the same preposition can often take one case or another depending on the verb it follows and the complement it introduces.

Some German verbs take the dative when followed by AN :

• arbeiten an = to work at
• fehlen an = to err in
• leiden an = to suffer from
• zweifeln an = to doubt about
• hängen an = to be hung on
• es liegt an = to depend on
• erkranken an = to get sick of

Very often, the dative is introduced by the preposition MIT , as in the following cases:

• beginnen mit = to begin with, to begin
• aufhören mit = to stop, to stop
• sich einigen mit = to come to an agreement with
• sprechen mit = to speak with
• reden mit = to speak with
• spielen mit = to play with
• verheiratet sein mit = to be married to
• sich treffen mit = to meet with
• sich streiten mit = to argue with

Some verbs introduce the dative with the preposition VON :

• halten von = to deem someone
• erwarten von = to expect from
• leben von = to live on
• voll sein von = to be full of
• sich ausruhen von = to rest from
• unterscheiden von = to distinguish from
• traumen von = to dream of

Some are followed by the preposition ZU :

• raten zu = to advise on
• sich melden zu = to sign up for
• einladen zu = to invite to
• gehören zu = to belong to

While others from the preposition VOR :

• Angst haben vor = to be afraid of
• warner vor = to warn of
• fliehen vor = to flee from

Some verbs, then, are followed by BEI :

• sich erkundigen bei = to inquire with someone
• sich bedanken bei = to thank someone
• sich entschuldigen bei = apologize for
• jemandem dabei helfen, etwas zu tun = to help someone to do something

Finally, we find verbs that introduce the dative with the preposition NACH :

• fragen nach = to ask about
• schmecken nach = to know about (meaning the flavor of something)
• sich sehnen nach = to desire something
• riechen nach = to smell of
• sich erkundigen nach = to inquire about

There are also some rare cases in which the dative is introduced by the preposition AUS , such as the verb bestehen aus which means "to consist of". The same verb, followed by the preposition AUF , instead takes on the meaning of insisting on something.

German Prepositions with Genitive

German prepositions that introduce the genitive are the easiest to recognize and locate in a text. There are few of them, and they mostly introduce complements of cause, manner, or substitution and exchange.

Here are the most commonly used ones, along with their translations:

• Anstatt = instead of
• außerhalb = outside
• anstelle = instead of
• infolge = consequently, due to
• oberhalb, above, over
• unterhalb = below, under
• jenseits = beyond, beyond
• trotz = despite, in spite of
• dank = thanks to, by virtue of
• wegen = because of

Some examples of use:

• Ich habe gelernt, anstatt auszugehen. = I studied instead of going out.
• Ich ging wegen dieser Brustschmerzen zum Arzt. = I went to the doctor for that chest pain.
• Außerhalb dieser Stadt ist eine ganze Welt. = Outside this city there.