German Dative and Accusative Exercises (A2) | Free A2 German Exercises

What's included here

Practise the difference between the German dative and accusative cases with these free A2 exercises. You'll learn to choose the correct articles and pronouns, recognise which case a verb requires, and build sentences using both cases.

Ich sehe den Mann. But Ich helfe dem Mann.

Why does der Mann become den Mann in one sentence and dem Mann in the other?

It depends on the noun's role in the sentence. German uses different grammatical cases to show who or what is involved in an action.

Let's review the difference between the accusative and dative before putting them into practice.

Grammar Recap: Dative vs. Accusative

The accusative usually marks the direct object: the person or thing directly affected by an action.

The dative often marks the person receiving something or benefiting from an action.

In the second sentence, dem Mann is dative (the recipient), while ein Buch is accusative (the thing being given).

How do the articles change?

Notice that the dative plural usually adds -n to the noun, as in den Kindern. Nouns already ending in -n or -s don't add another -n.

The indefinite articles also change:

Some verbs take a particular case

Certain verbs require an accusative object:

• sehen - to see
• besuchen - to visit
• brauchen - to need
• kaufen - to buy

Other verbs require a dative object:

• helfen - to help
• danken - to thank
• gefallen - to please / to be liked by
• gehören - to belong to

For example:

The same person, but a different case because the verbs have different requirements.

When a sentence has both cases

Some verbs, such as geben, schenken, zeigen and schicken, can take both a dative and an accusative object.

Here, meiner Schwester is dative (the recipient) and ein Geschenk is accusative (the thing being given).

When both objects are nouns, the dative usually comes before the accusative. When both are personal pronouns, the accusative normally comes first.

Exercise 1: Dative or Accusative?

Let's start by identifying which case each verb requires.

Choose the correct article. Pay attention to the verb and the noun's gender.

Exercise 2: Choose the Correct Ending

Now let's practise indefinite articles and possessive determiners.

Complete each sentence with the correct form. The word in brackets tells you which determiner to use.

Exercise 3: Accusative or Dative Pronouns?

Articles aren't the only words that change. Personal pronouns also have different accusative and dative forms.

Here are the most common ones:

Choose the correct pronoun to complete each sentence.

Exercise 4: Two Objects, Two Cases

Some sentences contain both a dative and an accusative object.

Complete each sentence with the correct article or determiner. Decide whether the missing noun is the recipient or the thing being given, shown or sent.

Exercise 5: Replace the Nouns with Pronouns

Let's make the sentences sound more natural by replacing nouns with personal pronouns.

When both objects are pronouns, the accusative normally comes before the dative.

For example:

Complete each sentence with the correct pair of pronouns. Use the nouns in brackets to work out which pronouns you need.

Exercise 6: Build Sentences with Dative and Accusative

For the final exercise, let's put everything together.

Rewrite each sentence using the correct dative and accusative forms. Pay attention to the verb, the noun's gender and the word order.

The End

You've practised distinguishing the dative and accusative cases, choosing the correct articles and pronouns, and building sentences with both cases.

Remember that the verb often determines which case you need. Learning verbs together with their case requirements will make these decisions easier over time.

For more practice, explore our other German exercises.