Genau
Topic test · B2

Formal prepositions test

10questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

10 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

des schlechten Wetters fiel das Konzert aus.

The concert was cancelled owing to the bad weather.

Because it gives the “reason / cause” of something, you use aufgrund (the formal version of wegen).

Das Problem konnte eines neuen Programms gelöst werden.

The problem could be solved by means of a new program.

To say “with the help of / by means of” something, you use mittels.

Aufgrund (der Fehler - masculine) musste das System neu gestartet werden.

Because of the error the system had to be restarted.

des Fehlers — aufgrund takes the genitive. With masculine and neuter nouns, the genitive both turns the article into des and adds -s to the noun.

Wir müssen die Entscheidung der neuen Daten überdenken.

We have to reconsider the decision on the basis of the new data.

Doing something “on the basis of / by looking at” a document or data is expressed with anhand.

Infolge (die Wirtschaftskrise) verloren viele Menschen ihren Job.

As a result of the economic crisis, many people lost their jobs.

der Wirtschaftskrise — infolge takes the genitive. With feminine nouns the genitive article is der and the noun gets no ending.

Build the sentence: Despite the accident, the road was clear.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

Ungeachtet des Unfalls war die Straße frei. ungeachtet (despite) is a formal preposition and always takes the genitive (des Unfalls).

Aufgrund Verletzungen konnte er nicht spielen.

Because of injuries (plural, no article) he couldn’t play.

In a plural with no article and no adjective the genitive isn’t visible, so von + Dativ is used as the rescue. dem and des are singular articles and don’t go with a plural noun.

Ich schreibe Ihnen (regarding) Ihrer Anzeige.

I am writing to you regarding your advertisement.

To say “regarding / with reference to” a topic in correspondence, bezüglich is very common.

Which one is grammatically correct?

Aufgrund takes the genitive (des Wetters). The dative (dem) is wrong, and von + accusative (das) is wrong.

"Wir rufen Sie zwecks der Klärung an." is the ideal usage preferred in B2 business German.

False. Germans use the preposition "zwecks" almost always without an article: "zwecks Klärung".
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. Most formal prepositions take the genitive

    Don’t forget the change der/das -> des (+s), die/die -> der. A few, like gemäß, zufolge and laut, take the dative.

    aufgrund des Regens (der Regen -> des Regens)

  2. No article? von + Dativ comes to the rescue

    With plurals and article-less words where the genitive isn’t visible, von is added.

    aufgrund von Problemen

  3. zwecks is usually used without an article

    After zwecks the noun comes bare, as if it were in the base form, with no article.

    zwecks Überprüfung (for the purpose of checking)

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • aufgrund dem Regen

    aufgrund des Regens

    aufgrund always takes the genitive. The dative is not used.

  • infolge der Unfall

    infolge des Unfalls

    der Unfall (masculine) -> des Unfalls (genitive + the s ending).