B2 · Adjectives · about 4 minutes
Adjectives with a case or a preposition
stolz auf, ähnlich, wert
Some adjectives take a dative, some a genitive, and many a fixed preposition — none of it derivable.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need8
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- stolzproud
- die Tochterdaughter
- bewusstconscious, deliberate
- das Ergebnisresult, finding
- zufriedensatisfied, content
- der Kompromisscompromise
- überzeugento convince
- peinlichembarrassing
Understand
RememberLearn the adjective with its preposition, as with a verb.
- Signal words
- mir
- dir
- ihm
- auf
- mit
- von
- an
- für
- zu
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in German.
| with a dative | Das ist mir egal. |
| with a genitive | Er ist sich der Lage bewusst. |
| with auf | stolz auf, böse auf, gespannt auf |
| with mit | zufrieden mit, einverstanden mit |
| with von | abhängig von, überzeugt von |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
A group of adjectives takes a dative for the person concerned.
Das ist mir zu teuer.That is too expensive for me.
The preposition of an adjective is part of it and is learned with it.
Er ist stolz auf seine Tochter.He is proud of his daughter.
For a thing rather than a person, da- plus the preposition is used.
Damit bin ich nicht einverstanden.I do not agree with that.
The genitive adjectives are formal and mostly written.
Ich bin mir dessen bewusst.I am aware of that.
Example sentences
Sie ist mit dem Ergebnis zufrieden.She is satisfied with the result.
Das Kind ist seiner Mutter sehr ähnlich.The child looks very like its mother.
Wir sind bereit zu einem Kompromiss.We are ready to compromise.
10 more example sentences
Er ist von seiner Sache überzeugt.He is convinced of his case.
Das ist mir peinlich.That is embarrassing for me.
Ich bin dir sehr dankbar.I am very grateful to you.
Das Ergebnis ist von vielen Faktoren abhängig.The result depends on many factors.
Sie ist an dem Angebot interessiert.She is interested in the offer.
Er war böse auf sich selbst.He was angry with himself.
Ist Ihnen das recht?Is that all right with you?
Wir sind gespannt auf das Ergebnis.We are curious about the result.
Das ist mir neu.That is news to me.
Sie ist sich ihrer Verantwortung bewusst.She is aware of her responsibility.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "proud of" pushes von across and German takes auf with the accusative. As with verbs, nothing about the meaning predicts the preposition, and the English one is no guide in either direction. Store the adjective with its preposition and its case: stolz auf + accusative.
Quick check
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
An adjective can govern a case just as a verb can. A group of them takes a dative: ähnlich, treu, dankbar, peinlich, egal, klar. Das ist mir egal, er ist seinem Vater ähnlich.
A smaller and more formal group takes a genitive: sich einer Sache bewusst, eines Verbrechens schuldig, der Mühe wert. These belong to written and legal German and are worth recognising rather than producing.
Most adjectives that need an object take a fixed preposition instead, exactly as verbs do: stolz auf, böse auf, zufrieden mit, interessiert an, abhängig von, bereit zu. The preposition is part of the adjective and has to be learned with it.
A closer look
The dative adjectives are all about a person
What the dative adjectives have in common is that they describe how something stands towards a person rather than what it is in itself. Das ist teuer is a fact about the price; das ist mir zu teuer is a fact about the speaker. The dative marks whom the judgement belongs to.
That is the same role the dative plays with verbs like gefallen and schmecken, and with the impersonal mir ist kalt. Seeing the three as one pattern turns a scattered set of idioms into a single habit of the language: the person affected goes in the dative, whatever part of speech does the affecting.
Exceptions and special cases2
Exception
When the adjective is voll, wert or müde
then a genitive is possible but rare: voll and müde normally take a preposition today (voll von, müde von), and wert normally takes the accusative.
Das ist die Mühe wert.That is worth the trouble.
Why? The genitive is retreating here as everywhere else, and the older form survives in fixed phrases such as der Mühe wert.
Exception
When the adjective stands in front of a noun
then the governed phrase usually moves behind the noun or disappears.
ein auf seine Arbeit stolzer Manna man proud of his work
Why? German avoids stacking a governed phrase inside an attributive adjective in speech; in writing an extended participle phrase does it instead.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
The list worth learning is about twenty long
As with verbs, dictionaries list far more than come up: stolz auf, böse auf, gespannt auf, zufrieden mit, einverstanden mit, interessiert an, abhängig von, überzeugt von, bereit zu, fähig zu, dankbar für, verantwortlich für. Twelve of them carry most of everyday use.
zufrieden mit, interessiert an, dankbar fürsatisfied with, interested in, grateful for
Worth knowing
mir is often the whole difference
Adding a dative pronoun turns a statement about the world into a statement about the speaker, and German does it constantly: das ist zu laut against das ist mir zu laut, das ist neu against das ist mir neu. It is one syllable and it changes who is being described.
Das ist mir zu kompliziert.That is too complicated for me.
The verbs on this page, in every form: sein