Verbs Followed by Accusative Case in German

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In this article we’ll be talking about verbs that are followed by direct objects, which, as you know, are used in accusative case in German. Direct objects usually follow the verb, but they can occupy other positions in the clause as well.

Position of Direct Object

In German the cases are clearly marked, so you can change the word order if you want to emphasize a special element in the sentence. Naturally, only as long as the verb is in second position! Here’s how you can do it with the direct object.

[Ich] [esse] [den Kuchen] [nicht].

[Den Kuchen] [esse] [ich] [nicht].

I’m not eating the cake.

[Ich] [kenne] [die Frau] [sehr gut].

[Die Frau] [kenne] [ich] [sehr gut].

I know this woman very well.

In English the order can’t be changed because case is not marked in the article the. Anne loves the man. is not the same as The man loves Anne.

Common Verbs Used with Direct Objects

There are lots of verbs that require a direct object to be used with them. Below is a list of some examples.

*sehen*	to see	Siehst du den Schrank?	Can you see the closet?
*brauchen*	to need	Er braucht eine Frau.	He needs a woman.
*machen*	to make	Du machst einen Fehler!	You’re making a mistake.
*essen*	to eat	Man isst das nicht!	One doesn’t eat this.
*fressen*	to eat (animals)	Die Kühe fressen Gras.	The cows are eating grass.
*trinken*	to drink	Warum trinkt ihr keinen Wein?	Why aren’t you drinking wine?
*singen*	to sing	Der Sänger singt sein Lied.	The singer is singing his song.
*malen*	to paint	Malst du auch Landschaften?	Do you paint landscapes too?
*kaufen*	to buy	Wann kaufst du ein Auto?	When are you going to buy a car?
*verkaufen*	to sell	Sie verkauft ihre Wohnung.	She’s selling her apartment.
*kriegen*	to get, to receive	Wann kriege ich das Geschenk?	When will I get the present?
*erhalten*	to receive	Wann erhalten wir Ihren Brief?	When will we receive your letter?
*nähen*	to sew	Sie näht eine Bluse.	She’s sewing a blouse.
*kochen*	to cook	Frau Weber kocht kein Fleisch.	Mrs. Weber isn’t cooking any meat.
*untersuchen*	to examine	Die Ärztin untersucht das Mädchen.	The doctor’s examining the girl.
*lehren*	to teach	Der Maler lehrt die Kinder malen.	The painter teaches the children to paint.
*schreiben*	to write	Wer schreibt den Brief?	Who’s writing the letter?
*lesen*	to read	Meine Freundin liest Romane.	My (girl)friend reads novels.
*zeichnen*	to draw (a picture)	Das Kind zeichnet seine Familie.	The child is drawing its family.
*brechen*	to break	Brich die Vase nicht!	Don’t break the vase!
*werfen*	to throw	Wie hoch wirft er den Stein?	How high is he throwing the stone?
*treffen*	to meet	Wo treffen wir unseren Freund?	Where are we meeting our friend?
*stehlen*	to steal	Der Dieb stiehlt mein Fahrrad.	The thief is stealing my bike.
*backen*	to bake	Was für einen Kuchen backen Sie heute?	What kind of cake are you baking today?
*fangen*	to catch	Katzen fangen Mäuse.	Cats catch mice.
*halten*	to hold	Halten Sie bitte meinen Mantel!	Hold my coat, please!
*schlagen*	to hit	Schlag das Tier nicht mehr!	Don’t hit / beat the animal anymore.
*waschen*	to wash	Das Auto waschen wir jetzt!	We’re washing the car now.
*tragen*	to carry, to wear	Sie trägt immer einen Rock.	She always wears a skirt.
*nehmen*	to take	Dieses Buch nehme ich nicht.	I’m not taking this book.
*kennen*	to know (someone)	Den Mann kennen wir noch nicht.	We don’t know the man yet.
*finden*	to find	Wo finden wir jenes Haus?	Where do we find that house?
*sammeln*	to collect	Sammelst du keine Briefmarken?	Don’t you collect stamps?
*füttern*	to feed	Der Vogel füttert seine Kinder.	The bird is feeding its children.
*öffnen*	to open	Öffne bitte die Tür.	Please open the door.
*schließen*	to close	Der Student schließt das Buch.	The student is closing the book.
*bringen*	to bring	Die Schüler bringen ihre Hefte.	The students are bringing their exercise books.
*holen*	to fetch	Ich hole den Wagen.	I’ll fetch the car.
*töten*	kill	Der Mann tötet eine Fliege.	The man is killing a fly.
*genießen*	to enjoy	Genießt du deinen Urlaub?	Are you enjoying your vacation?
*vermeiden*	to avoid	Welchen Mann vermeiden Sie und warum?	Which man are you avoiding and why?
*rufen*	to call	Herr Schmidt ruft seine Töchter.	Mr. Schmidt is calling his daughters.
*suchen*	look for	Ich suche meinen Bleistift.	I’m looking for my pencil.
*schneiden*	to cut	Das Brot schneiden wir auch nicht.	We aren’t going to cut / slice the bread either.
*vergessen*	to forget	Sie vergisst jedes Wort.	She forgets every word.
*ziehen*	to pull, to draw	Das Pferd zieht die Kutsche.	The horse is drawing the coach.

es gibt

Finally, let me mention the expression es gibt. It is always followed by accusative case and means there is / there are:

Es gibt einen Hund.	There’s a dog.
Es gibt keine Blumen.	There are no flowers.
Es gibt ein Pferd.	There’s a horse.
Gibt es auch eine Katze?	Is there a cat, too?
Was gibt es noch?	What else is there?