Accusative Verbs in German (Verben mit Akkusativ)

In the German language, certain verbs always require an object in the accusative case. These verbs, known as “accusative verbs,” directly affect the object in the sentence, necessitating the use of the accusative case. In this section, we will delve into a list of common German accusative verbs and explore their usage with examples.

Understanding Accusative Verbs in German

German, unlike English, has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Each case has a different role and function in a sentence, as shown in Table 1.1:

Cases	Role	Description
Nominative	Subject	Takes action
Accusative	Direct object	Receives action
Dative	Indirect object	To/for whom action is taken
Genitive	Possessive	Indicates the owner of someone or something

❗Note: In English, there are just two cases: the subject (nominative) and the object (accusative & dative combined into “the objective case”).

In German, the direct object, which is the person or thing receiving the action of the verb, is usually expressed in the accusative case. However, certain verbs require the direct object to be in the dative case. In this lesson, we will only be focusing on the verbs that require the accusative case.

You can find the direct object in English by finding the verb and asking, “What or whom?”. Similarly, in German, we find the accusative case by asking “was” or “wen” to the verb.

Person	Thing
wen (whom)	was (what)

Subject + verb + direct object (Accusative)

Step 1 ➡️ Find the verb!
Step 2 ➡️ Ask, “What (was)” or “Whom (wen)”

🇺🇸 John invited Sarah to the party. (whom)
🇩🇪 Harry mäht das Gras. (was)
🇺🇸 Harry mows the grass. (what)
🇩🇪 Jane gießt die Blumen. (was)
🇺🇸 Jane waters the flowers. (what)
🇩🇪 Ich habe den Hund gefüttert. (was)
🇺🇸 I fed the dog. (what)
🇩🇪 John hat Sarah zu der Party eingeladen. (wen)
🇺🇸 John invited Sarah to the party. (whom)

In German, certain verbs specifically require an “accusative object” (Akkusativobjekt). This means that when you encounter these verbs in a sentence, you can be sure they will be followed by a direct object in the accusative case. The most common of these verbs are listed in Table 1.3.

Verben	Verbs
🔊 abschließen	to close
🔊 anhalten	to stop
🔊 anrufen	to call
🔊 anschauen	to look at
🔊 aufmachen	to open
🔊 backen	to bake
🔊 bekommen	to receive
🔊 beraten	to advise
🔊 besuchen	to visit
🔊 bezahlen	to pay
🔊 brauchen	to need
🔊 einladen	to invite
🔊 erfinden	to invent
🔊 essen	to eat
🔊 finden	to find
🔊 fragen	to ask
🔊 haben	to have
🔊 heiraten	to marry
🔊 holen	to fetch
🔊 hören	to hear
🔊 kennen	to know
🔊 kaufen	to buy
🔊 legen	to lay
🔊 lernen	to learn
🔊 lesen	to read
🔊 machen	to make
🔊 mögen	to like
🔊 nehmen	to take
🔊 sehen	to see
🔊 sprechen	to speak
🔊 suchen	to look for
🔊 trinken	to drink
🔊 öffnen	to open
🔊 verstehen	to understand
🔊 wählen	to choose