In grammar, cases indicate the role that nouns and pronouns play in a sentence. Case is important in German because four types of words — nouns, pronouns, articles, and adjectives — go through spelling changes according to the case they represent in a sentence. German has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. The following table breaks them down based on function.
| Case | Case Function |
|---|---|
| Nominative | Used for the subject of a sentence Used for predicate nouns |
| Accusative | Used for the direct object of a sentence |
| Dative | Used for the indirect object of a sentence |
| Genitive | Used to show possession, ownership, or a close relationship |
