Editing Accusative case (section)

== German ==
The accusative case is used for the direct object in a sentence. The masculine forms for [[German articles]], e.g., "the", "a/an", "my", etc., change in the accusative case: they always end in -en. The feminine, neutral and plural forms do not change.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Masculine
! Feminine
! Neuter
! Plural
|-
| Definite article (the)
| {{lang|de|den}}
| {{lang|de|die}}
| {{lang|de|das}}
| {{lang|de|die}}
|-
| Indefinite article (a/an)
| {{lang|de|einen}}
| {{lang|de|eine}}
| {{lang|de|ein}}
| 
|}

For example, {{lang|de|Hund}} (dog) is a masculine ({{lang|de|der}}) word, so the article changes when used in the accusative case:
*{{lang|de|Ich habe einen Hund}}. (lit., I have a dog.) In the sentence, "a dog" is in the accusative case as it is the second idea (the object) of the sentence.

Some [[German pronouns]] also change in the accusative case.

The accusative case is also used after particular German prepositions. These include {{lang|de|bis}}, {{lang|de|durch}}, {{lang|de|für}}, {{lang|de|gegen}}, {{lang|de|ohne}}, {{lang|de|um}}, after which the accusative case is always used, and {{lang|de|an}}, {{lang|de|auf}}, {{lang|de|hinter}}, {{lang|de|in}}, {{lang|de|neben}}, {{lang|de|über}}, {{lang|de|unter}}, {{lang|de|vor}}, {{lang|de|zwischen}} which can govern either the accusative or the dative. The latter prepositions take the accusative when motion or action is specified (being done into/onto the space), but take the dative when location is specified (being done in/on that space). These prepositions are also used in conjunction with certain verbs, in which case it is the verb in question which governs whether the accusative or dative should be used.

Adjective endings also change in the accusative case. Another factor that determines the endings of adjectives is whether the adjective is being used after a definite article (the), after an indefinite article (a/an) or without any article before the adjective (''many'' green apples).
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Masculine
! Feminine
! Neuter
! Plural
|-
| Definite article
| rowspan="3" | {{lang|de|-en}}
| rowspan="3" | {{lang|de|-e}}
| {{lang|de|-e}}
| rowspan="2" | {{lang|de|-en}}
|-
| Indefinite article
| rowspan="2" | {{lang|de|-es}}
|-
| No article
| {{lang|de|-e}}
|}

In German, the accusative case is also used for some adverbial expressions, mostly temporal ones, as in {{lang|de|Diesen Abend bleibe ich daheim}} (This evening I'm staying at home), where {{lang|de|diesen Abend}} is marked as accusative, although not a direct object.