Was ist Akkusativ? | German accusative explained | YourGermanTeacher

Was ist Akkusativ? What is actually the meaning of this German case called accusative? When do you have to use it? Was ist ein Akkusativobjekt?
These are all questions which very often come up for beginner students who learn the basics of the German language. With this video I try to solve the mysterious German grammar problem once and for all and will explain you what accusative really is, the accusative meaning and teach you also the Akkusativobjekt.

Generally speaking accusative is very close to the English direct object. This German case is used after specific verbs and prepositions. Prepositions I will not touch in the video. Verbs are actually pretty easy explained. Just always use the accusative case if you don't know better. There are only a handful of verbs which require Nominative. For a little bit more you need to use Dative. For almost all the rest just use Accusative.

Another way to explain the German case Akkusativ:
If you have a sentence with one object, almost every time this object needs to be in Akkusativ. So every sentence has a subject, which stand in Nominativ and if you have an additional person or thing in this sentence which would be the object, you need to use Akkusativ.

If you are on the beginning to learn German you definitely want to check out our A1.1 Complete Beginner Online Course here:

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Viel Spass und bis bald
Luzi

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Related Content:
1️⃣ Was ist Dativ? | Dative case explained:

2️⃣ The difference between kein VS nicht explained.

3️⃣ German genders fully explained with the best tips and tricks:

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[yourgermanteacher]

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[allmyducksinarow]

I just started a german course at my university and the difference between nominative and accusative cases has been so tricky for me. The "2 people-2 things" explanation cleared everything up for me. Thank you so much.

[n.m]

After my German class I come here because I learn more here than class, best German teacher. From South Africa

[akshatmishra]

I've been trying to understand Akkusative past 6 months and you simply cleared everything within 12 minutes.
Amazing content and teaching skills.
Will recommend all my peers to watch and subscribe your channel.

[shaziamehtab]

No one explains Akkusativ like you. I was struggling from 2 years. And today's it's well cleared to me. Thanks aloooot.

[creativity-iu]

He is really good in teaching German Whenever i feel difficult anything in grammar, i just watch his i understand each and everythings.

[taqihussain]

"2 people 2 things" great job man. Didnt think i would get it in this lifetime

[lynsamfortas]

I love how you keep switching between English and German, I'm so glad I found your channel

[syedkibria]

Honestly, you are the best German teacher I have ever seen (online & offline). Your tactics and techniques are so helpful and easy to remember even the complex topics. I wish I could meet you in person one day.

[ariadneme]

Ich bin 13. Ich komme aus Indonesien. Just started learning Germany 4 days ago and with ur simple explanations makes me enjoy learning Germany. Thanks!!

[abdulparwana]

After wasting my time for the last 2 months in my German class, finally you very clearly explained what is Akkusativ. Thank you. I have just subscribed to your channel.

[enkhnyambattulga]

Instant subscription! High quality videos and he easily explains very confusing concepts with no difficulty. This channel is definitely underrated!

[jannikmiller]

I just started teaching German to a friend of mine. I am native in German still these videos really helped me to get the grammar properly explained and put myself in another perspective: the of a foreigner learning German. I am super grateful for that. Thank you! I am learning a lot about my own language. Just a small thing I'd like to point out with the 'homework": Was isst du gerne? Though this question works to get an accusative answer. Usually we would reply without using any article and depending on the food we would choose whether to use the plural (mostly fruits) or singular form (somehow many vegetables :D ).
Let me give you some examples:

Ich esse gerne

Ich esse gerne

This is the case when the question is posed in a general way as in: Was isst du gerne? (What do you like to eat?).

If the scenario is a different one, let's say we are at a buffet and the host asks you: Was würdest du gerne essen? (What would you like to eat?)

You could reply using accusative:

Ich esse (gerne) einen Apfel/ ein Stück Kuchen/ einen Salat / eine Portion Nudelauflauf / ein Brötchen

Also if the question is: Was isst du? (What are you eating?)

Ich esse eine Banane/ eine Pizza/ einen Kuchen/ einen Nachtisch

So, if the the food is more defined in a situation (we can actually see it) we'd go using accusative.

Still, there are plenty of exceptions for some food that will never be fully covered, I suppose.

For example, same buffet scenario and you choose to eat the cauliflower.
Zum Beispiel: Selbes Büfett-Szenario und du suchst dir den Blumenkohl zum Essen aus.
(I was just translating because the sentence actually included an accusative)

Since you would not eat the whole cauliflower because it has been separated in its serving, you would still reply without using an article:

Ich esse Blumenkohl or Ich esse ein bisschen Blumenkohl.

Thank you again for your great video.

Liebste Grüße

[jmanification]

I take German classes in my city once a week and your videos help me consolidate thoroughly. Zum beispiel, I studied Akkusativ in class last week and this video is priceless. Vielen Danke ! Perfect icing on my German cake.

[br]

This is hands down the best ever tutorial on Akkusativ. I had been struggling with German cases for years. Vielen Dank, Luzi. 🙏🏻Keep up the good job!! 🎉I wonder why you guys are so underrated. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[sandeepbissoo]

Thank you very much! I have been struggling with the cases for weeks now and now I finally understood it. Really appreciate all the effort that you have put into this and all your videos.

[nancygathoni]

I recently discovered this channel through random navigation and it is a life saver. I have been learning German and never found such a good explanation to this cases. Ich esse gern einen Apfel.
Ich trinke gern einen Wein / ein Bier.

I find the channel underrated and I hope most German learners will locate it. So helpful.

vielen Dank!

[happygoblin]

Thank you for such a clear video. As a native English speaker I had trouble understanding the accusative case. You have explained it better than most teachers.

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[gastonamri]

I had 4 semesters of German in high school, didn't figure out what Akkusativ is for the life of me. You explained it so amazingly "2 people 2 things" Perfect video, thank you!