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Case II

The changes in Definite and Indefinite articles in all the Cases will be as shown in the tables below.

The Accusative Case (Der Akkusativ or Der Wenfall)

The direct object (accusative) functions as the receiver of the action of a verb. In the examples below we will see, the man (direct object) is acted upon by the dog, so he receives the action(bite) of the subject (the dog).

We can see the changes in the definite and indefinite articles in the accusative case in the charts above.

Let's have a look at the examples:

Der Hund beißt den Mann.

The dog bites the man.

Er beißt ihn.

He (the dog) bites him (the man).

Den Mann beißt der Hund.

The dog bites the man.

Note how the order of the words may change, but as long as you have the proper accusative articles, the meaning remains clear.

The Germanic word for the accusative case, der Wenfall, reflects the der-to-den change. The question word in the accusative is wen (whom). such as;

Ich habe ihn gestern gesehen.

I saw him yesterday.

Wen hast du gestern gesehen?  

Whom did you see yesterday?

Wen hat der Hund gebissen?

Whom did the dog bite?

ich sehe ihn jeden Tag.

I see him every day.

Ich habe einen Apfel.

I have an apple.

In the above example, the verb haben (to have) is used which is an Accusative verb. Hence there is einen Apfel.

Accusative Time Expressions: The accusative is also used in some standard time and distance expressions.

Das Hotel liegt einen Kilometer von hier.

The hotel lies/is located a kilometer from here.

Er verbrachte einen Monat in Paris.

He spent a month in Paris.

The Dative Case (Der Dativ or Der Wemfall)

In English, the dative case is known as the indirect object. We can see in the chart above that unlike the accusative, which only changes with the masculine gender, the dative changes in all genders and even in the plural. The pronouns also change correspondingly.

The indirect object (dative) is usually the receiver of the direct object (accusative). 

Ich danke Ihnen.

I thank you.

Ich gebe ihm das Buch.

I give him the book.

Ich gebe einem Kind das Spielzeug.

I give a child the toy.

The question word in the dative is, naturally enough, wem ([to] whom?). For example:

Wem hast du das Buch gegeben?

To whom did you give the book?

Note that the Germanic word for the dative case, der Wemfall, also reflects the der-to-dem change.

Wir machen das mit einem Computer.

We do that with a computer.

Mit is a dative preposition. Hence the einem computer is in the Dative.

The Genitive (Der Genitiv or Der Wesfall)

The genitive case in German shows possession. In English, this is expressed by the possessive "of" or an apostrophe with an "s" ('s). (Maria's book/book of Maria)

The genitive case is also used with some verb, idioms and with the Genitive prepositions. In spoken, everyday German, von plus the dative often replaces the genitive. For example:

Das Auto von meinem Bruder. 

My brother's car or literally, the car from/of my brother.

In the masculine and neuter, there is also an additional noun ending, either -es or -s. 

Der Titel des Films ist sehr lang.

The title of the film is very long.

Das Auto meines Vaters ist rot.

My father's car is red.

Das Haar des Mädchens ist lockig.

The girl's hair is curly.

Das Haus meines Freundes ist sehr groß.

My Friend's House is very big.

The one-word genitive article usually translates as two words ("of the" or "of a/an") in English.

We can notice there have been some changes in the pronouns in every case. In next chapter we will have look at the same. Probably things will be much more clear to you then.

In addition to their function, the case can change after certain verbs and with certain prepositions. We will also cover them in later chapters.

For now keep practicing. Stay safe. Bis später. Tschüss.