“mit” is a preposition which is frequently used. It translates to “with”. The important thing to remember about it is, that it always triggers the dative case. It means that you sometimes have to change the endings of pronouns or articles!

For example:

1.) Peter spielt mit seiner Schwester. Peter is playing with his sister.

Mit WEM spielt Peter? - Mit seiner Schwester. With who is Peter playing? - With his sister.

compare: Seine Schwester heißt Lisa. His sister is called Lisa. (nominative case)

2.) Peter geht mit dem Hund spazieren. Peter is going for a walk with the dog.

Mit WEM geht Peter spazieren? - Mit dem Hund. With who is Peter going for a walk? - With the dog.

compare: Der Hund ist schwarz. The dog is black. (nominative case)

So remember: MIT + DATIVE CASE!!

Both “in” and “nach” get mixed up easily in German. They are both local prepositions.

What’s the difference in an example like….

1.) in Berlin; in Deutschland

OR

2.) nach Berlin; nach Deutschland?

Well…. #1 = WHERE? and #2 = WHERETO?

#1 I live IN Berlin. Ich lebe IN Berlin. I live IN Germany. Ich lebe IN Deutschland. WHERE do you live? WO lebst/wohnst du?

#2 I want to go TO Berlin. Ich will NACH Berlin fahren. I want to go TO Germany. Ich will NACH Deutschland fahren. WHERE(TO) do you want to go? WOHIN willst du fahren?

Thanks for taking some time to fill in the gaps yesterday :) Have you actually noticed, that all of the prepositions you had to use trigger the dative case?

-> […] DEM Eisberg.

Here are the correct answers:

1. Der Yeti sitzt (on) AUF dem Eisberg.

2. Der Yeti sitzt (under) UNTER dem Eisberg.

3. Der Yeti sitzt (next to) NEBEN dem Eisberg.

4. Der Yeti sitzt (in front of) VOR dem Eisberg.

5. Der Yeti sitzt (near) NAHE / BEI dem Eisberg. / in der Nähe des (Genitive) Eisbergs.

… and fill in the correct prepositions…

1. Der Yeti sitzt (on)…… dem Eisberg.

2. Der Yeti sitzt (under)….dem Eisberg.

3. Der Yeti sitzt (next to)…. dem Eisberg.

4. Der Yeti sitzt (in front of)…. dem Eisberg.

5. Der Yeti sitzt (near)…. dem Eisberg.

…?

Recently, someone asked me a question about the usage of “zum”.

But there are more prepositions of place in German that work exactly like “zu” = preposition of place “to”; an = prep. of place “at” / “by”; in = prep. of place “in” / “into”

The general rule is: You can contract the preposition with the following direct article. The direct article is either “der” (feminine, dative) or “dem” (masculine and neuter, dative) or “die” (feminine, accusative), “den” (masculine, accusative) or “das” (masculine, accusative).

German prepositions trigger certain cases. The ones in the subject line either trigger the dative or the accusative.

zu + definite article “der” (fem., dative) -> zur

zu + def. article “dem” (masc./neut., dat.) -> zum

an + def. art. “dem” (masc./neut., dat.) -> am

an + def. art. “das” (neut., acc.) -> ans

in + def. art. “dem” (masc./neut., dat.) -> im

in + def. art. “das” (neut., acc.) -> ins

Jeez! This must have been confusing! :-O

The 2nd German case “Genitiv” is triggered by the following prepositions:

außerhalb = out of / outside of

innerhalb = inside of / within

statt = instead of

trotz = despite of

während = during

wegen = because of

dank = thanks to

Find a complete list of Genitive prepositions here.

Prepositions of time:

bis = until

nach = after

seit = since; for

um = at

vor = before; ago

während = during

Prepositions of place:

auf = on

aus = out of

bei = at; near

durch = through

hinter = behind

in = in; inside

in der Nähe von = near / close to

neben = next to

vor = in front of

über = over

unter = under; below

zwischen = between