Accusative Case.
First of all, what is meant by "case?" This is a grammar term that means the way a noun is used in the language. For example, a noun can be the topic of the sentence. In that case, the noun is the subject, so it is in the nominative case, or the subject case.
If the noun follows the verb and receives the action of the verb, it is the direct object, or the accusative case, or the direct object case. The noun after the verb (the direct object) usually answers the question words what or whom.
For example, in the sentence "Frau Freud likes basketball," which noun is the topic of the sentence? You guessed it: Frau Freud. Which noun tells what she likes? Right again: basketball. Therefore, Frau Freud is the subject, the nominative case, and basketball is the direct object, the accusative case. In German the sentence would read Frau Freud spielt gern Basketball.
Now why is this so important in German? In German the articles and other adjectives change form depending on their use in the sentence, so if an article describes a subject, one form is used, the nominative case. If the article describes a direct object, another form is used, the accusative case. Fortunately, for both the nominative and accusative cases, all the forms but one are the same. The masculine form is the only one that changes, so der Mann (subject) would change to den Mann (accusative).
Nominative and Accusative Article Forms.
Nominative: der Mann >Accusative: den Mann
Nominative: die Frau > Accusative: die Frau
Nominative: das Kind > Accusative: das Kind
Nominative: die Kinder > Accusative: die Kinder
Congugation of the Simple Present Tense.
1st person singular: ich geh + e = ich gehe
2nd person singular: du geh + st = du gehst
3rd person singular: er, sie, es geh + t = er, sie, es geht
1st person plural: wir geh + en= wir gehen
2nd person singular: ihr geh + t= ihr geht
3rd person singular: sie geh + en = sie gehen
Formal singular and plural: Sie geh + en = Sie gehen
*This is the first step toward THE One World Language.
Step Nineteen: The accusative case tried by a jury!
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