entgegen (contrary to, against)

What it means

entgegen is a preposition that always takes the dative case. It has two closely related meanings:

• "contrary to / against" (abstract): Entgegen dem Vertrag lieferte die Firma zu spät. = "Contrary to the contract, the company delivered late." It signals that something happens against a rule, a plan, an expectation, advice or a trend.
• "towards / against" (directional, spatial): dem Wind entgegen = "against the wind"; der Sonne entgegen = "towards the sun". Here it describes movement in the direction of - and often against - something.

Case government

entgegen governs the dative and nothing else. The word entgegen itself does not change; the case shows on the article/adjective of the noun it belongs to:

• masculine: entgegen dem Rat
• feminine: entgegen der Erwartung
• neuter: entgegen dem Gesetz
• plural: entgegen den Warnungen

Position

Unusually, entgegen can stand before the noun (prepositive) or after it (postpositive):

• entgegen dem Befehl = dem Befehl entgegen

In the abstract "contrary to" sense it is usually prepositive and often opens the sentence: Entgegen allen Erwartungen .... In the directional sense it is normally postpositive: Sie liefen dem Ausgang entgegen.

When to use it

Use entgegen in a slightly formal register to express that something runs counter to a rule, plan, expectation or advice, or to describe motion toward or against something (often somewhat literary). Note the related separable verbs built on it, e.g. entgegenkommen (to accommodate), entgegennehmen (to accept), entgegensehen/entgegenblicken (to look forward to), entgegentreten (to confront) - these also take a dative object.

Most common mistake

The biggest error is using the genitive: entgegen des Rates is wrong. Because many "despite/because of" prepositions (trotz, wegen, während) take the genitive, learners overgeneralize. entgegen is dative: entgegen dem Rat. Also do not confuse it with gegen (+ accusative), which means "against" in the sense of physical opposition or "around (a time)".

"entgegen" is a preposition that always governs the dative case. It means "contrary to / against" (an expectation, rule or advice) or, in a directional sense, "towards / against". It can stand before or after its noun.

"entgegen" means "contrary to" or "towards/against" and governs the dative. It can come before the noun (entgegen dem Rat) or after it (dem Rat entgegen). In the abstract "contrary to" sense it is usually placed before the noun and often opens the sentence; in the directional "towards/against" sense it usually follows the noun.

"entgegen" ist eine Praeposition mit dem Dativ. Sie bedeutet "im Gegensatz zu / gegen" (eine Erwartung, Regel oder einen Rat) oder raeumlich "in Richtung auf, gegen". Sie kann dem Nomen voran- oder nachgestellt werden.