- 1). Memorize the prepositions that require the accusative (durch, ohne, gegen, für, um) using the acronym DOGFU, which is pronounced in English as "dog foo." This is simply an easy way to remember which prepositions always take the accusative case.
- 2). Memorize the two-way prepositions (an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen). These may take either the accusative or dative case, depending on whether or not the prepositional object is stationary (dative) or in motion (accusative).
- 3). Memorize the adjective endings and declinations of the definite and indefinite articles for the accusative case. For example, the nominative case forms "der Mantel" and "ein Mantel" become "den Mantel" and "einen Mantel," respectively, in the accusative case.
- 4). Memorize the personal and possessive pronouns and their accusative forms. For example, "ich" becomes "mich" in the accusative case -- it's the same transition from "I" to "me" in English.
- 5). Familiarize yourself with the concepts of subject, direct object, and indirect object. In German, the subject takes the nominative case, the direct object takes the accusative case and the indirect object takes the dative case, prepositions notwithstanding.
- 6). Construct sample sentences and try to use the cases properly. For example, the word "der Mantel" is in the accusative case ("der" turns into "den") in the sentence "Ich trage den Mantel," because "der Mantel" acts as the direct object. In the phrase "ohne den Mantel," the accusative case is used because of the preposition "ohne," which always takes an accusative object (see Step 1).
- 7). Read a German children's book and try to identify and understand why certain words are in certain cases. You don't need to understand all the words, just pay attention to words that indicate case, like definite and indefinite articles.
- 8). Be aware of exceptions, and seek help from German teachers or native speakers of German. Foreign languages are always difficult to learn, and the best help always comes from fluent speakers.
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