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Local preposition 'unter' (under, Wo?/where? + dative)
Lokale Präposition 'unter' (Wo? + Dativ)
'unter' (under / below) takes the for a location (Wo?).
Structure
unter + Dativ (Wo?)
unter + dative (Wo?)
Details
- Part of Speech
- Preposition
- Word Type
- Two-way preposition
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
unter means under / below - something is located beneath another thing. As a two-way , unter takes the dative for a static position (question Wo?, no movement).
The rule:
- Wo? (position) → unter + Dativ
- Wohin? (movement underneath) → unter + Akkusativ
articles after unter: unter dem (m/n), unter der (f). (No contraction.)
Paired examples:
- Die Katze liegt unter dem Tisch. - The cat is lying under the table. (Wo? → Dativ)
- Die Katze geht unter den Tisch. - The cat goes under the table. (Wohin? → Akkusativ)
- Die Schuhe stehen unter dem Bett. - The shoes are under the bed. (Wo? → Dativ)
- Der Ball liegt unter dem Stuhl. - The ball is under the chair. (Wo? → Dativ)
Common mistakes:
- Using the for a resting position: Die Katze liegt unter den Tisch is wrong - say unter dem Tisch.
- Forgetting the change (m/n dem, f der).
About Local preposition 'unter' (under, Wo?/where? + dative)
'unter' (under / below) takes the for a location (Wo?).
'unter' takes the for location (Wo?) and the for direction (Wohin?).
'unter' steht bei einer Ortsangabe (Wo?) mit dem .
Caution
For position (Wo?) use the dative: 'unter dem Tisch'. With movement (Wohin?) it takes the accusative.