What do the four German cases do in a sentence?

Example in context

Der Mann gibt dem Kind den Ball des Nachbarn. — The man gives the neighbour's ball to the child.

Der Mann is the subject; dem Kind is the recipient; den Ball is the thing given; des Nachbarn identifies the ball's owner. The article and noun forms vary by gender and number, so do not assume every dem or den means the same noun gender.

Try it with input

First identify the verb and ask who does the action. Then find what is given and to whom. Read the sentence once for meaning before you examine the endings.

These roles are a starting point, not a complete rule. Verbs and prepositions can require a particular case, and the genitive has other uses.

Use captions for context

Jibber Jabber is our app. Its interactive captions and word lookup can help you check a word without leaving a German video. See our related guide; use a grammar reference when you need a full explanation.