 Every part in a sentence has a grammatical function. Some common functions are: - Subject - Verb - Direct object / accusative object - Indirect object / dative object - … (we won’t worry about the other for now)

- Nouns and pronouns always have a certain case. What does the term " case " mean? It's the grammatical function of a noun or pronoun, thankfully almost extinct in the English language, but we haven't buried it yet. Example: I see him (not “he”). > accusative case

 What is the verb?  Who is the subject?  Who is the object?

 What is the verb?- habe  Who is the subject? - Ich  Who is the object?- eine Katze

 A noun or pronoun is in the nominative case (the main case that you would find in a dictionary) when it is used as the subject of the sentence. It is the “acting person” which conjugates the verb.  In the following examples, nouns and pronouns in the subjective case are italicized.

 A noun or pronoun is in the nominative case (the main case that you would find in a dictionary) when it is used as the subject of the sentence. It is the “acting person” which conjugates the verb.  In the following examples, nouns and pronouns in the subjective case are italicized.  For example: “ Ich habe eine Katze“ “Ich" is the subject because conjugates “haben”. “ Mein Onkel hat ein großes Haus.”

 Mein Onkel hat ein großes Haus.”  “ Meine blaue Jeans ist kaputt.”

Helpful question to find the subject: Who is doing this?

 First you need to know what an object is. If the subject of a sentence is doing something to someone, that someone or something becomes the object of the sentence.subject

 First you need to know what an object is. If the subject of a sentence is doing something to someone, that someone or something becomes the object of the sentence.subject  A noun or pronoun is in the accusative case when it is used as a direct object.  A noun which is directly affected by the action of a verb is put into the accusative case. In English we call this noun the "direct object" or “accusative object” which is a little more descriptive of its function. It's the direct object of some action.

 Ich kaufe den Kuli.  In the example above, the “Kuli" is in the accusative case because it's the direct object of my purchase.  Pronouns also have an accusative case, which we will cover later in the year.

Helpful question to find the object: Who or what is being seen/driven/owned…?

 Mark the subject = blau, verb = grün, object = red. Anything else stays unmarked.  Ich fahre das Auto.  Die wilden Katzen essen eine Banane.  Meine Eltern wollen ein Haus kaufen.  Danach kaufe ich den Bleistift.  Warum willst du keine Hamburger essen?

Direct and indirect articles change cases, too. You only notice this in masculine words, though. NominativeAccusativeNominativeAccusative DerDenEinEinen Die Eine Das Ein

Direct and indirect articles change cases, too. You only notice this in masculine words, though. NominativeAccusativeNominativeAccusative DerDenEinEinen Die Eine Das Ein

The same goes for kein / keine / keinen NominativeAccusativeNominativeAccusative DerDenKeinKeinen Die Keine Das kein

 Example: Ich habe ein Kleid an.  - neuter and direct object  1. Die Hose kostet nur 20 Euro. Ich kaufe nur die Hose.  2. Am Dienstag hat Katja einen Mantel an.  3. Der rote Hut gefällt mir.  4. Die Grossmutter fährt ein blaues Auto.

 Ich trage _____________ Kleid. (das)  Er hat _____________ Hut (der) an.  Wir sehen _______________ schöne Krawatte (die).  Morgen kommt ______ Lehrer (der) in die Schule.  Ich muss _______ Anzug (der ) kaufen.