dank (thanks to, owing to)

Meaning

dank is a causal preposition meaning "thanks to", "owing to" or "because of". Unlike wegen (which is neutral) or trotz (concessive), dank usually points to a positive cause - the reason something good happened. It can also be used ironically to assign blame for a bad outcome ("dank deiner Verspätung haben wir den Zug verpasst").

Case government

dank takes the genitive or the dative.

• Singular: both are common and correct: dank des guten Wetters (genitive) = dank dem guten Wetter (dative).
• Plural: the genitive is generally preferred, especially when the plural is clearly marked: dank guter Vorbereitungen. A bare dative plural is often avoided because the case ending is not distinctive.
• It never takes the accusative or the nominative.

Word order

As a preposition, dank stands in front of its noun phrase and, like other prepositional phrases, can open the sentence. When it opens the sentence, the finite verb still comes second: Dank deiner Hilfe habe ich bestanden.

Common mistake

Learners often put the noun in the accusative (as after für/durch) or leave it in the nominative. After dank you need the genitive or the dative: not dank deine Hilfe, but dank deiner Hilfe.

Examples

• Dank des Stipendiums kann er im Ausland studieren. (genitive)
• Dank dem guten Wetter blieben wir den ganzen Tag draußen. (dative)

"dank" (thanks to / owing to) is a causal preposition naming a mostly positive cause; it governs the genitive or the dative, never the accusative.

Use 'dank' + noun to say something good happened because of that noun: 'dank deiner Hilfe' (thanks to your help). In the singular, genitive (dank des Wetters) and dative (dank dem Wetter) are both fine; in the plural, prefer the genitive (dank guter Ideen). If 'dank' opens the sentence, keep the finite verb in second position.

"dank" (aufgrund, meist im positiven Sinn) ist eine Kausalpräposition; sie steht mit Genitiv oder Dativ, nie mit Akkusativ.