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German Grammar Guidebook

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"Except for": The Preposition außer

To say "except for" use the preposition außer plus dative:
 

Außer mir ist niemand gekommen.
No one came except me.

The Preposition aus

The preposition aus takes the dative. Use it to describe a person’s origin.
 

Ich bin Michael Smith aus Atlanta.
I am Michael Smith from Atlanta.

Use aus to specify the material composition of things.
 

Der Ring ist aus Gold.
The ring is made of gold.

Use aus to describe the ideas emerging from or out of.
 

Mike kommt aus dem Haus.
Mike is coming out of the house.

The Preposition gegen

The preposition gegen takes the accusative. It means against in most cases.
 

Er hatte nie etwas gegen einen guten Schnaps.
He never had anything against a good schnapps.
Deutschland hat gegen die USA Hockey gespielt.
Germany played hockey against the US.

It is also used to describe treatments and medications to counter illnesses. Here it means for.
 

Nehmen Sie zwei Aspirine gegen Kopfschmerzen.
Take 2 aspirins for headaches.

It is also used to state approximate clock times (short of some preferable or appointed time)
 

Kommen Sie gegen sechs Uhr.
Come on toward six o’clock.

The Preposition in Plus Dative to Describe Enclosure

The preposition in takes the dative to describe enclosure.
 

Masculine Neuter Feminine
im Koffer im Taxi in der Bank
in the suitcase in the taxi in the bank

The Preposition in plus Accusative to Describe Entering

The German preposition in takes the accusative for destinations. The contraction for in + das is ins.. In describing destinations generally implies entrance.
 

Sie kommen in den Souvenirladen.
They’re coming into the souvenir shop.
Wir müssen morgen Abend in die Oper.
We’ve got to go to the opera tomorrow night.
Wir sind im Dezember nicht ins Theater gegangen.
We didn’t go to the theater in December.

Countries with feminine gender require in to describe location and destination. The case changes accordingly.
 

Erika ist in der Schweiz.
Erica’s in Switzerland.
Erika fährt in die Schweiz.
Erica’s driving to Switzerland.


Examples of außer, aus, gegen and in

  • Haben Sie etwas gegen Bauchschmerzen?
  • das Ihren Erwartungen in allem außer dem Preis entsprechen würde.