📚 The Accusative Case in German (Akkusativ) 🇩🇪📖

In German, the accusative case is primarily used to show the direct object of a verb — the thing or person receiving the action. Let’s break it down step by step, and draw parallels with Hindi (देवनागरी) to make it clearer.

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🧩 1. What is the Accusative Case?

🔑 Definition:

• The accusative case marks the direct object of a verb — the person, animal, or thing that receives the action of the verb.

📝 Example in German:

• Ich sehe den Hund.
  (I see the dog.)

Breakdown:

• Ich (I) → Subject (Nominative)
• sehe (see) → Verb
• den Hund (the dog) → Direct Object (Accusative)

📝 Parallel Example in Hindi:

• मैं कुत्ते को देखता हूँ।
  (Main kutte ko dekhta hoon.)

Comparison:

• Ich → मैं → Subject
• sehe → देखता हूँ → Verb
• den Hund → कुत्ते को → Direct Object (Accusative marker ‘को’)

In both languages:

• The direct object is marked (in German, by “den”; in Hindi, by “को”).

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🧩 2. Definite & Indefinite Articles in Accusative Case

In the accusative case, only masculine nouns change their article. Feminine, neuter, and plural articles remain the same as in the nominative case.

📝 Definite Articles (der, die, das, die)

Gender	Nominative	Accusative	Example
Masculine	der	den	Ich sehe den Mann.
Feminine	die	die	Ich sehe die Frau.
Neuter	das	das	Ich sehe das Kind.
Plural	die	die	Ich sehe die Kinder.

📝 Indefinite Articles (ein, eine, ein)

Gender	Nominative	Accusative	Example
Masculine	ein	einen	Ich sehe einen Hund.
Feminine	eine	eine	Ich sehe eine Katze.
Neuter	ein	ein	Ich sehe ein Auto.

📝 Comparison with Hindi:

• In Hindi, masculine and feminine nouns aren’t distinguished by articles, but “को” acts as an accusative marker:
  • मैं एक आदमी को देखता हूँ। (I see a man.)
  • मैं एक औरत को देखता हूँ। (I see a woman.)

In German, the article changes; in Hindi, “को” is added to show the accusative case.

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🧩 3. Common Verbs That Take the Accusative Case

Some verbs always require an accusative object. Here’s a list:

• haben (to have) → Ich habe einen Hund. (I have a dog.)
• sehen (to see) → Ich sehe den Baum. (I see the tree.)
• lieben (to love) → Ich liebe meine Mutter. (I love my mother.)
• hören (to hear) → Ich höre die Musik. (I hear the music.)
• lesen (to read) → Ich lese ein Buch. (I read a book.)
• kaufen (to buy) → Ich kaufe ein Auto. (I buy a car.)

📝 Comparison with Hindi:

• मैं एक किताब पढ़ता हूँ। (Main ek kitaab padhta hoon.)
• मैं अपनी माँ से प्यार करता हूँ। (Main apni maa se pyaar karta hoon.)

The verbs in both languages interact with the accusative object (किताब, माँ).

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🧩 4. Accusative Prepositions

Some prepositions always require the accusative case in German. Here’s a list:

Preposition	Meaning	Example Sentence
für	for	Das Geschenk ist für dich. (The gift is for you.)
um	around/about	Wir laufen um den Park. (We walk around the park.)
durch	through	Er geht durch die Tür. (He goes through the door.)
gegen	against	Das Auto fährt gegen den Baum. (The car drives into the tree.)
ohne	without	Ich trinke Kaffee ohne Zucker. (I drink coffee without sugar.)
bis	until	Ich warte bis nächsten Montag. (I wait until next Monday.)

📝 Comparison with Hindi:

Hindi uses postpositions like “के लिए” (for), “के बिना” (without):

• यह तुम्हारे लिए है। (Yeh tumhaare liye hai.) → Das ist für dich.
• मैं बिना चीनी के चाय पीता हूँ। (Main bina cheeni ke chai peeta hoon.) → Ich trinke Tee ohne Zucker.

Key Takeaway:

• In German, the preposition governs the accusative article.
• In Hindi, postpositions like “के लिए” govern the relationship.

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🧩 5. Accusative Personal Pronouns

Pronouns also change in the accusative case.

Nominative	Accusative	Example
ich (I)	mich	Sie liebt mich. (She loves me.)
du (you)	dich	Ich sehe dich. (I see you.)
er (he)	ihn	Ich kenne ihn. (I know him.)
sie (she)	sie	Ich kenne sie. (I know her.)
es (it)	es	Ich mag es. (I like it.)
wir (we)	uns	Er ruft uns an. (He calls us.)
ihr (you all)	euch	Ich sehe euch. (I see you all.)
sie (they)	sie	Ich höre sie. (I hear them.)

📝 Comparison with Hindi:

• वह मुझे देखता है। (Vah mujhe dekhta hai.) → Er sieht mich.
• मैं तुम्हें जानता हूँ। (Main tumhein jaanta hoon.) → Ich kenne dich.

In both languages, pronouns change form in the accusative case.

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🧩 6. Word Order in Accusative Sentences

In German, the typical word order is:
Subject → Verb → Indirect Object (Dative) → Direct Object (Accusative)

📝 Example:

• Ich gebe meinem Bruder einen Apfel. (I give my brother an apple.)

In Hindi:

• मैं अपने भाई को एक सेब देता हूँ।

The structure aligns closely.

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🧠 Key Takeaways for Accusative Case:

1. Marks the direct object.
2. Masculine nouns/articles change (der → den, ein → einen).
3. Certain verbs and prepositions always require the accusative.
4. Pronouns change in the accusative.
5. The word order is generally Subject → Verb → Direct Object.

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