Wechselpräposition
German
Etymology
From wechseln (“to change, alternate”) + Präposition (“preposition”).
Noun
Wechselpräposition f (genitive Wechselpräposition, plural Wechselpräpositionen)
- (grammar) A preposition that can be construed with more than one grammatical case, with the sense depending on this choice of case.
- „Auf“ ist eine Wechselpräposition. ― “Auf” is a preposition taking more than one case.
Usage notes
- With regard to German grammar, the alternation is always between dative and accusative. The basic rule for this alternation is very straightforward: Dative is used when the preposition describes a stationary position or movement within a confined space. Accusative is used when the preposition describes movement from A to B.
- Die Kinder rennen in der Turnhalle. ― The children are running in the gym.
- Die Kinder rennen in die Turnhalle. ― The children are running into the gym.
- However, the choice is often less intuitive in figurative use or in combination with certain verbs. For example, you say ein Brett an die Wand schrauben (“to screw a board to the wall”), but ein Brett an der Wand befestigen (“to fasten a board to the wall”).
Declension
Declension of Wechselpräposition
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | Wechselpräposition | die | Wechselpräpositionen |
| genitive | einer | der | Wechselpräposition | der | Wechselpräpositionen |
| dative | einer | der | Wechselpräposition | den | Wechselpräpositionen |
| accusative | eine | die | Wechselpräposition | die | Wechselpräpositionen |