A. Verbs with only Nominative Case
In German, most verbs require an object in the accusative or dative, but there is a clear group of verbs that do not govern any object case at all. These verbs take only a subject in the nominative. They are often called intransitive verbs (itr. in dictionary)
Verbs of state / rest
Verbs describe a condition, not an action on something.
- sein – to be
- bleiben – to stay
- existieren – to exist
- fehlen – to be missing
- reichen – to be enough
Verbs of movement
- gehen – to go
- kommen – to come
- laufen – to run
- fahren – to drive
- reisen – to travel
- fallen – to fall
Verbs of weather / natural processes
- regnen – to rain
- schneien – to snow
- frieren – to freeze
- donnern – to thunder
Verbs of happening / change
- passieren – to happen
- geschehen – to occur
- entstehen – to arise
- wachsen – to grow
- sterben – to die
Verbs of existence & appearance
- erscheinen – to appear
- verschwinden – to disappear
- ankommen – to arrive
If the verb does not answer “Wen? Was? Wem?” — it usually takes only nominative.
- Der Zug kommt an.
- Ein Unfall passiert.
- Es regnet.
B. Verbs with only Akkusative Case
In German, verbs that require only an accusative object are called transitive verbs (Verben mit Akkusativobjekt).
They have:
- a subject in the nominative
- one direct object in the accusative
- no dative object
Perception verbs
- sehen – to see
- hören – to hear
- finden – to find
- spüren – to feel
- bemerken – to notice
Action verbs (doing something to something)
- machen – to make
- tun – to do
- öffnen – to open
- schließen – to close
- bauen – to build
- zerstören – to destroy
Mental & cognitive verbs
- wissen – to know (a fact)
- glauben – to believe
- denken – to think
- verstehen – to understand
- vergessen – to forget
- lernen – to learn
Possession & relation verbs
- lhaben – to have
- lbesitzen – to own
- lbekommen – to get
- lhalten – to hold
Communication verbs
- sagen – to say
- fragen – to ask
If the verb answers “Wen? / Was?” and nothing else → it requires accusative
- Ich öffne die Tür.
- Ich warte auf den Bus.
- Ich frage den Lehrer.
C. Verbs with Akkusative and Dativ Case
Verbs that require BOTH an accusative and a dative object are often called ditransitive verbs (Verben mit Dativ- und Akkusativobjekt).
Basic pattern: Nominativ (subject) + Verb + Dativ (recipient) + Akkusativ (thing)
Giving / transferring
- geben – to give
- schicken – to send
- bringen – to bring
- reichen – to hand
- überreichen – to hand over
- leihen – to lend
- verleihen – to lend (formal)
Saying / explaining
- sagen – to say
- erzählen – to tell
- erklären – to explain
- beschreiben – to describe
- melden – to report
Showing / presenting
- zeigen – to show
- vorstellen – to introduce / present
- präsentieren – to present
Buying / preparing for someone
- kaufen – to buy
- besorgen – to get
- backen – to bake
- kochen – to cook
If someone receives something (object, info, service), expect Dativ + Akkusativ
- Ich gebe das Buch an den Mann.
- Ich kaufe meiner Tochter ein Buch.
- Er sagt mir die Wahrheit.
D. Verbs with only Dativ
Case are a small but very important group. They must be memorized, because logic alone is not always enough.
Core verbs (very frequent)
- helfen – to help
- danken – to thank
- gefallen – to like (to please)
- folgen – to follow
- gehören – to belong to
- passen – to fit / suit
- schaden – to harm
- nützen / nutzen – to be useful
Trust / belief / relationship
- vertrauen – to trust
- glauben – to believe (someone)
- zuhören – to listen (to someone)
- antworten – to answer
Emotional / experiential verbs
- fehlen – to be missing
- wehtun – to hurt
- leidtun – to be sorry
Resistance / confrontation
- lwidersprechen – to contradict
- ldrohen – to threaten
- lbegegnen – to encounter
- lentgegnen – to reply
If the verb answers only “Wem?” and never “Wen/Was?” → it requires Dativ.
- Ich sehe den Mann.
- Der Rücken tut mir weh.
- Der Film gefällt mir.
Created: 21 Jan 2026
Last Update: