The general rule to remember: if the preposition is dealing with 'where' something is in a static sense, it takes the dative case if it is dealing with motion or destination ('where to' or 'what about') in an active sense, then it takes the accusative case.Ĭaption 39, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Mehr Wechselpräpositionen Play Caption Even experienced German speakers can get it wrong sometimes, so although you've probably learned this before, this may be a good time to review these two-way (or dual) prepositions. There are, however, certain prepositions that can take either the accusative or the dative case, depending on the context: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor and zwischen.

Others, like aus, außer, bei, gegenüber, mit, nach, seit, von and zu, take only the dative case. Some prepositions, such as bis, durch, für, gegen, je, ohne, um and wider, take only the accusative case. Most commonly spoken German prepositions take the accusative or dative case (the genitive case is used more often in the written form). Yabla German always provides you with a direct word-for-word translation as well as the direct meaning of the phrase to help you better understand these idiomatic expressions. Whenever it's about conflicts, it always ends up underground here.Ĭaption 21, Filmtrailer - Frau Müller muss weg Play Caption Wenn's um Konflikte geht, wird das hier immer unterirdisch. The English idioms 'keep your nose out of my business' and 'mind your own business' have similar meanings.

Kindly grab your own noses, please.Ĭaption 15, Filmtrailer - Frau Müller muss weg Play Caption Ĭaption 2, Filmtrailer - Frau Müller muss weg Play CaptionĪlthough German idioms often don’t have a direct English equivalent, a more literal translation might be: “The game is up.'įassen Sie sich gefälligst an Ihre eigenen Nasen. Just think about how some standard English idioms sound if you try to understand them literally: 'It's raining cats and dogs,' or 'Don't spill the beans.' Neither cats, nor dogs, nor beans have anything to do with what is really being expressed! This week's new Yabla video, the film trailer from ' Frau Müller muss weg,' contains a number of colorful German idioms: BANNER PLACEHOLDER Idiomatic expressions can be difficult, because even if you know what all of the words mean, it can sometimes be nearly impossible to understand what the phrase means.

German grammar lesson