4.5 Dative prepositions — mit, nach, aus, bei, seit, von, zu — Epoché
What you will be able to do Use the seven prepositions that always take the dative: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu , and two less frequent companions, außer and gegenüber . Choose between nach , zu and zu Hause when English says to or at home . Avoid the two classic English-speaker errors: using bei for by , and putting seit with the perfect tense. Make and read the contractions zum, zur, beim, vom . Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the German aloud; all of them come back below. German English Schreib bitte mit einem Kugelschreiber! [1] Please write with a ballpoint pen. Der Park ist gegenüber meinem Haus. [2] The park is opposite my house. Ich wohne bei meiner Mutter und meinem Stiefvater, mein Bruder bei unserem Vater. [3] I live with my mother and my stepfather. My brother lives with my father. Bleib einfach von meiner Tochter weg. [4] Just stay away from my daughter. Sie geht schon seit drei Tagen nicht zur Schule. [5] She hasn't been to school for three days. Seit drei Tagen regnet es. [6] It has been raining for three days. Prerequisites : 4.4 — you need the dative forms of the article and the pronouns from 4.2 Cases and 4.4 Cases ; you met nach, zu and bei as words of place in 2.14 Grammar . So far the dative has come from a verb: the receiver of geben , the object of helfen . This lesson adds a second source. Certain prepositions demand the dative after them, whatever the verb. There is nothing to work out: after these words the next noun phrase is in the dative, always. Learn the list, and the case follows automatically. Table English-speaking learners of German often learn the seven in alphabetical order, often sung to the tune of the Blue Danube waltz: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu . Preposition Main meanings Typical phrase aus out of; from, of origin aus dem Haus , aus Deutschland bei at someone's place; near; while doing bei meinen Eltern , beim Essen mit with; by, for transport mit meiner Schwester , mit dem Bus nach after; to, for towns and countries; to, in nach Hause nach dem Essen , nach Berlin seit since; for, of a period up to now seit gestern , seit einem Jahr von from; of; off vom Bahnhof , ein Freund von der Arbeit zu to, for people, buildings and events; at, in zu Hause zum Arzt , zur Schule außer except, apart from außer mir gegenüber opposite; towards, in relation to gegenüber on its own: across the street Three of them, zu, bei and von , fuse with the article in everyday German, giving four forms. The fused forms are not optional slang; they are the normal written forms whenever the article is not stressed. Full form Fused form zu dem zum zu der zur bei dem beim von dem vom The endings tell you the case even when they are glued on: the -m of zum, beim, vom is the dem of the masculine and neuter dative, and the -r of zur is the feminine dative der . The seven in real sentences mit — with, and by. English says by bus and by train ; German says with the bus , with an article. German English Er fuhr mit dem Bus. [7] He went by bus. Ich reise oft mit der Bahn. [8] I often travel by train. Schreib mit einem Kugelschreiber! [9] Write with a ballpoint pen. nach — after, and to a place with a name. German English Was machst du nach dem Essen? [10] What do you do after dinner? Wann bist du nach Berlin gezogen? [11] When did you move to Berlin? Geh nach Hause! [12] Go home! zu — to a person, a building, an event. German English Er ging zum Arzt. [13] He went to the doctor. Sie geht zur Schule. [14] She's going to school. Bleib zu Hause. [15] Stay at home. aus — out of, and from as origin. German English Raus aus der Küche! [16] Get out of the kitchen! Raus aus dem Bett! [17] Get out of bed. Ich bin aus Deutschland. [18] I'm from Germany. von — from, off, of. German English Geh von meinem Rasen! [19] Get off my lawn! Kannst du mich vom Bahnhof abholen? [20] Can you pick me up at the station? bei — at someone's, and while. German English Ich wohne bei meinen Eltern. [21] I live with my parents. Ich höre Radio beim Essen. [22] I listen to the radio while eating. seit — since, and for, up to now. German English Es regnet seit gestern. [23] It has been raining since yesterday. Es regnet seit drei Tagen. [24] It has been raining for three days. Ich lerne seit einem Jahr Koreanisch. [25] I have been studying Korean for 1 year. How English does it English prepositions take no case — almost. After an English preposition a noun looks the same as anywhere else. Only the pronouns show anything: with him , from her , except me , never with he . That object form is the remnant of the old case system, and it is in the same place as the German dative: with him is mit ihm . Trap one: bei is not by . The two words look and sound alike and come from the same root, but they have drifted apart. German bei means at someone's place or during : bei meinen Eltern is at my parents' . English by is several different German words: by bus is mit dem Bus , by Friday is bis Freitag , written by Goethe is von Goethe . Trap two: seit wants the present tense. English describes something that began in the past and is still going on with the present perfect: it has been raining for three days , I've known him for a year . German uses the plain present with seit : es regnet seit drei Tagen , literally it rains since three days . The logic is that the action is still happening now, so the present is the right tense. If you say ich habe ihn seit einem Jahr gekannt , a German hears a mistake. German English Ich kenne ihn seit einem Jahr. [26] I've known him for one year. Trap three: three words for to . English to covers every destination. German divides them. Towns, countries and continents without an article take nach : nach Berlin . People, buildings, shops and events take zu : zum Arzt , zur Schule . Home is special: going home is nach Hause , being at home is zu Hause . A fourth way, with in and the accusative, is for entering a space; you will learn it in 4.7 Cases . It is