German Accusative Prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

What are German accusative prepositions?

German accusative prepositions are a small, closed set of prepositions that always trigger the accusative case on the noun phrase they govern — no exceptions, no two-way behavior, no semantic toggles. If you see one of them, the article and adjective endings shift to the accusative pattern automatically.

Want to lock these in? The free interactive drills further down let you practise durch, für, gegen, ohne and um right here on the page — no sign-up required, and every answer is checked the moment you submit it.

The core group is five prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um. Practical references usually add bis as a sixth member, and treat entlang as a special postpositional case. Together this list of accusative prepositions covers everyday concepts like motion through space (durch den Park), purpose (für meinen Bruder), opposition (gegen den Plan), absence (ohne Zucker), and clock times (um neun Uhr).

A popular mnemonic locks in the core five: "Durch, für, gegen, ohne, um — Akkusativ ist gar nicht dumm!"

Das Geschenk ist für meinen Bruder. — The gift is for my brother.

Quick reference: the accusative preposition list

Accusative article forms

These accusative prepositions trigger the standard accusative article paradigm. Only masculine changes visibly — see the related German articles doc for the full case table.

Memorize the masculine row — every other gender keeps the nominative form, so the case is invisible there.

durch — through, by

Meaning: through, by means of, by (passive agent)

Wir gehen durch den Park. — We walk through the park.

Sie fährt durch die Stadt. — She drives through the city.

Das Fenster wurde durch einen Stein zerbrochen. — The window was broken by a stone.

Durch covers physical passage through a space, and marks the means or agent in passive constructions.

für — for

Meaning: for (purpose, benefit, duration)

Das ist für meinen Vater. — That is for my father.

Ich brauche Geld für die Miete. — I need money for the rent.

Er arbeitet für eine große Firma. — He works for a large company.

Für is the most common preposition in this group and the one learners use earliest. It covers "for" across purpose, recipient, and timed duration (für drei Tage).

gegen — against, into, around

Meaning: against, into (impact); approximately (with clock time)

Wir spielen gegen die andere Mannschaft. — We play against the other team.

Er ist gegen den Plan. — He is against the plan.

Sie kommt gegen drei Uhr. — She arrives around three o'clock.

With clock time, gegen means "approximately" and appears without an article. Do not confuse it with vor (a two-way preposition) — see Wechselpräpositionen.

ohne — without

Meaning: without

Ich trinke Kaffee ohne Zucker. — I drink coffee without sugar.

Er geht ohne seinen Bruder. — He goes without his brother.

Sie ist ohne Jacke gekommen. — She came without a jacket.

Ohne frequently drops the article — especially with uncountable nouns and generic concepts (ohne Geld, ohne Arbeit, ohne Probleme). When a determiner is present (possessive, numeral), it still inflects for accusative: ohne meinen Bruder, ohne einen Cent.

um — around, at

Meaning: around (spatial); at (exact clock time)

Sie laufen um den See. — They walk around the lake.

Um wie viel Uhr? — Um neun Uhr. — At what time? — At nine o'clock.

Er sitzt um den Tisch herum. — He sits around the table.

For clock times um takes no article. For spatial "around" it takes the accusative article — often reinforced by herum at the end of the clause.

bis — until, up to

Meaning: until, up to, as far as

Ich bleibe bis nächsten Montag. — I'm staying until next Monday.

Der Zug fährt bis Hamburg. — The train goes as far as Hamburg.

Wir warten bis zu der Brücke. — We wait up to the bridge.

Bis is the trickiest member of the group. Alone it governs accusative, but most concrete uses pair it with a second preposition (bis zu, bis an, bis auf), and that second preposition then decides the case. Bis zu der Brücke uses dative because zu is a dative preposition.

entlang — along (the special case)

Wir gehen den Fluss entlang. — We walk along the river.

Entlang is treated separately because it usually appears after its noun phrase. In that postposed position it requires the accusative. When entlang precedes the noun, it more commonly takes the dative or genitive — a different grammatical pattern.

Common mistakes

1. Confusing für (accusative) with vor (two-way).

   • Wrong: Ich habe Angst für die Prüfung.
   • Right: Ich habe Angst vor der Prüfung. — Angst vor takes dative; für would mean "for" in the purpose sense and is unidiomatic here. See Wechselpräpositionen.

2. Using gegen with the dative.

   • Wrong: Wir spielen gegen der Mannschaft.
   • Right: Wir spielen gegen die Mannschaft. — Gegen is purely accusative, even when the meaning ("against") feels confrontational and learners reach for dative.

3. Forgetting the masculine accusative ending on einen / den / meinen.

   • Wrong: Ich brauche das Geld für mein Bruder.
   • Right: Ich brauche das Geld für meinen Bruder. — Only masculine shows a visible accusative change; learners drop the -en because feminine and neuter look identical to nominative.

4. Treating bis like a normal accusative preposition when it pairs with zu or an.

   • Wrong: Wir gehen bis zu den Bahnhof.
   • Right: Wir gehen bis zu dem (or bis zum) Bahnhof. — The second preposition decides: zu takes dative, so bis zu takes dative even though bis alone is accusative.

5. Putting entlang before the noun and assuming accusative.

   • Wrong: Entlang den Fluss gibt es viele Cafés. (in most registers)
   • Right: Den Fluss entlang gibt es viele Cafés. — Entlang is reliably accusative only as a postposition. Many references list it separately from the durch-für-gegen-ohne-um group for this reason.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

1. Only masculine shows a visible change (der → den, ein → einen, mein → meinen). Feminine, neuter, and plural keep the nominative form.
2. Für is the highest-frequency accusative preposition. Drill it first.
3. Ohne often drops the article entirely — ohne Schuhe, ohne Probleme. When a determiner is present, it still inflects.
4. Don't confuse these with dative-only prepositions (mit, von, zu, bei, nach, seit, aus) — see German dative prepositions.
5. Don't confuse these with two-way prepositions (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen) — those take accusative for direction and dative for location; see Wechselpräpositionen.
6. Bis is accusative alone but defers to the second preposition in compounds (bis zu → dative, bis an → mixed).

Related grammar

• German dative prepositions — the dative counterpart: mit, von, zu, bei, nach, seit, aus, gegenüber.
• Wechselpräpositionen (two-way prepositions) — an, auf, in, vor, hinter: accusative for direction, dative for location.
• German articles — full accusative article forms and the rest of the case paradigm.
• German genitive prepositions (B1) — trotz, während, wegen, statt: the next case-bound preposition group.