German Accusative, haben, Negation, and Conjunctions

1. Introduction

A German noun can appear in different cases. The case shows the role that the noun plays in the sentence.

The Akkusativ, or accusative case, often marks the direct object of an action. The direct object answers these questions:

• wen? — whom?
• was? — what?

Ich kaufe einen Computer.
I am buying a computer.

einen Computer is the object of the action and stands in the accusative.

2. The basic accusative rule

The masculine forms are the most important forms to learn. In the feminine, neuter, and plural, the accusative forms of articles and many determiners are often the same as their nominative forms.

The main change occurs in the masculine:

Many masculine accusative articles and determiners take the ending -en.

3. Articles and determiners in the accusative

Definite article

der Computer → den Computer

Ich kaufe den Computer.
I am buying the computer.

Indefinite article

ein Computer → einen Computer

Er sucht einen Computer.
He is looking for a computer.

Demonstrative determiner

dieser Computer → diesen Computer

Ich nehme diesen Computer.
I am taking this computer.

Possessive determiner

mein Computer → meinen Computer

Er hat meinen Computer.
He has my computer.

4. Adjectives in the accusative

An adjective before a noun also takes a case ending. After a definite or indefinite article, a masculine accusative adjective normally takes -en:

• ein guter Mann → einen guten Mann — a good man
• der neue Computer → den neuen Computer — the new computer

Ich sehe einen guten Mann.
I see a good man.

Sie kauft den neuen Computer.
She is buying the new computer.

In the feminine and neuter, these forms are normally the same as in the nominative:

• eine neue Lampe — a new lamp
• ein neues Buch — a new book
• ein altes Bild — an old picture

5. Special forms of some masculine nouns

Some masculine nouns take -en or -n in the accusative. Many of them refer to people or living beings:

• der Junge → den Jungen — the boy
• der Kollege → den Kollegen — the colleague
• der Mensch → den Menschen — the person
• der Herr → den Herrn — the gentleman

This group also includes many loanwords with particular suffixes:

• der Student → den Studenten — the student
• der Diplomat → den Diplomaten — the diplomat

Ich sehe den Studenten.
I see the student.

Sie kennt den Kollegen.
She knows the colleague.

6. Transitive verbs and the accusative

Many German verbs require an accusative object. These verbs are called transitive verbs. Their action is directed toward a person or thing.

Common transitive verbs include:

• lieben — to love
• schreiben — to write
• lernen — to learn
• suchen — to look for
• kaufen — to buy
• bringen — to bring
• machen — to do or make
• finden — to find

Ich lerne Deutsch.
I am learning German.

Er sucht einen neuen Computer.
He is looking for a new computer.

Sie kauft ein gutes Haus.
She is buying a good house.

Wir schreiben einen Brief.
We are writing a letter.

Ich finde den Schlüssel.
I find the key.

7. The verb haben in the present tense

The verb haben means “to have.” It has several irregular forms in the present tense:

haben is very often used with an accusative object:

• Er hat einen neuen Computer. — He has a new computer.
• Sie haben ein altes Haus. — They have an old house.

8. The negative article kein

kein is used with nouns and expresses that a person, thing, or phenomenon is absent. It changes according to gender, number, and case.

Forms of kein in the nominative

Forms of kein in the accusative

The masculine accusative form changes: kein Computer → keinen Computer.

9. Kein and nicht

German has two important ways to form negation: kein and nicht.

kein negates a noun:

• Ich habe keinen Computer. — I do not have a computer.
• Sie haben keine Kinder. — They do not have children.

nicht negates a verb, an adverbial element, an adjective, or a complete statement:

• Er arbeitet nicht. — He is not working.
• Mein Computer ist nicht hier. — My computer is not here.
• Dieses Haus ist nicht neu. — This house is not new.

Compare:

• Das ist kein neues Haus. — That is not a new house.
• Dieses Haus ist nicht neu. — This house is not new.

In the first sentence, kein stands with the noun. In the second sentence, nicht negates the quality neu.

10. The conjunctions und, aber, oder, and sondern

Conjunctions connect words, sentence elements, or complete clauses. The coordinating conjunctions und, aber, oder, and sondern do not change normal main-clause word order.

Und

und means “and.” It connects elements without contrast:

• Ich habe einen Computer und ein Buch. — I have a computer and a book.
• Er lernt Deutsch und schreibt einen Text. — He is learning German and writing a text.

Aber

aber means “but” and expresses a contrast:

• Das Haus ist alt, aber schön. — The house is old but beautiful.
• Ich habe einen Computer, aber keinen Drucker. — I have a computer but no printer.

Oder

oder means “or” and presents a choice or alternative:

• Kaufst du einen Computer oder ein Buch? — Are you buying a computer or a book?
• Wir gehen heute oder morgen. — We are going today or tomorrow.

Sondern

sondern follows a negation and introduces a correction or contrasting alternative:

• Dieses Haus ist nicht neu, sondern alt. — This house is not new but old.
• Das ist kein Computer, sondern ein Fernseher. — That is not a computer but a television.
• Ich kaufe keinen Tisch, sondern einen Stuhl. — I am not buying a table but a chair.

11. What to remember

• The accusative often marks the direct object and answers wen? or was?.
• Masculine accusative forms often take -en: den Computer, einen Computer, keinen Computer, meinen Computer.
• Some masculine nouns also take -en or -n: den Studenten, den Jungen.
• haben is conjugated as ich habe, du hast, er hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie haben.
• kein negates a noun: Ich habe keinen Computer.
• nicht negates a verb, quality, adverbial element, or complete statement: Er arbeitet nicht.
• sondern follows a negation and corrects the previous statement: Das ist kein Buch, sondern ein Heft.