A1 · beginner #GEGEN

the preposition gegen

die Präposition gegen

gegen is a German preposition that always takes the accusative: gegen den Plan, gegen acht Uhr.

gegen always takes the accusative. Depending on context it means “against”, “around (a time)” or “for/against (an illness)”.

Contents

gegen always takes the accusative

gegen is an accusative preposition. The noun, article or pronoun after it must be in the accusative. Only the masculine article changes: der → den. The others (die, das) stay as they are.

Pronouns change too — just like English “he → him”: ich → mich, du → dich, er → ihn, sie → sie, es → es, wir → uns, ihr → euch, sie/Sie → sie.

Nominativ	Akkusativ (gegen + ?)	Example sentence
der Mann	den Mann	Er spielt gegen den Mann.
die Frau	die Frau	Sie kämpft gegen die Frau.
das Kind	das Kind	Er rennt gegen das Kind.
er	ihn	Ich habe nichts gegen ihn.
ich	mich	Er stellt sich gegen mich.

Table: apart from the der → den change in the masculine, the other articles and the plural stay as written.

The four main jobs of gegen

a) Against (sport, competition): When two sides meet in a match, a game or a conflict, you use gegen. It matches English “against”.

b) Bumping into something (physical contact): It describes an object or a body hitting something else. It is often used with verbs of hitting or moving (stoßen, prallen, fahren, laufen) — English “into” or “against”.

c) Approximate time: In clock times it means “around”, not “exactly”. gegen acht Uhr = “around eight”, “towards eight”.

d) Medicine / protection / treatment (medical context): It says which illness or complaint a medicine, vaccine or treatment is against. English often says “for” here (“something for a cold”), German says gegen.

Function	German example	English
Sport / match	Unser Team spielt gegen den Meister.	Our team is playing the champions.
Bumping into	Der Vogel flog gegen das Fenster.	The bird flew into the window.
Approximate time	Wir treffen uns gegen 17 Uhr.	We’re meeting around five.
Medicine / treatment	Er nimmt Tabletten gegen die Schmerzen.	He takes tablets for the pain.

There is no article in clock times: gegen acht Uhr (wrong: *gegen die acht Uhr).

Wir spielen gegen eine starke Mannschaft. We’re playing against a strong team. Sport match
Der Wagen fuhr gegen die Mauer. The car drove into the wall. Physical impact
Komm bitte gegen 19 Uhr. Please come around seven. Approximate time
Gibt es ein Mittel gegen Übelkeit? Is there a remedy for nausea? Medicine / treatment
Bist du für oder gegen den Vorschlag? Are you for or against the proposal? The für / gegen pair
Er hat sich gegen die Entscheidung gestellt. He came out against the decision. Abstract opposition (sich gegen … stellen)

gegen and für are opposites

für (for) and gegen (against) are opposites (antonyms). Both take the accusative. They are the most common way to say whether you are for or against a plan, an idea or a proposal.

Positive (support)	Negative (against)	Meaning
Ich bin für den Plan.	Ich bin gegen den Plan.	I support the plan / I’m against the plan.
Stimmt ihr für den Antrag?	Stimmt ihr gegen den Antrag?	Are you voting for the motion / against it?
Er ist für die Änderung.	Er ist gegen die Änderung.	He is in favour of the change / opposed to the change.

SHORTCUT: When the topic is already clear, replace “für/gegen + noun” with Ich bin dafür / Ich bin dagegen (pronominal adverbs): “I’m for it / I’m against it”.

gegen acht vs. um acht – the appointment trap

um acht Uhr = exactly 08:00. Use it for fixed times such as appointments, trains and flights.

gegen acht Uhr = around 08:00 (somewhere between 07:50 and 08:10). Use it for flexible times such as meeting a friend or being home.

For a job interview, a doctor’s appointment or a cinema showing, use um. For a flexible time like “I’ll be home around seven”, you say gegen: Ich bin gegen sieben zu Hause.

Preposition	Meaning	Typical use	Example
um	Exactly / fixed	Formal appointments, transport	Der Zug fährt um 8 Uhr ab.
gegen	Around / approximately	Private meetings, estimated arrival	Ich komme gegen 8 Uhr nach Hause.

If you say “I’ll come gegen 8 Uhr”, arriving at 08:10 is fine; if you say “I’ll come um 8 Uhr”, arriving at 08:01 is already late.

Traps

TRAP 01

The dative trap

gegen never takes the dative. Using dem with a masculine noun is a big mistake.

Ich kämpfe gegen dem Gegner.

dem is a dative article; gegen takes the accusative.

Ich kämpfe gegen den Gegner.

den = accusative masculine article. Correct.

TRAP 02

The clock-time article trap

German uses no article with clock times (approximate or exact). English “around the eight o’clock” sounds odd, but “around the time of …” makes learners want to slip a die in anyway.

Wir kommen gegen die acht Uhr.

An article like die does not belong in a clock time.

Wir kommen gegen acht Uhr.

No article. This is the correct way to say “around eight”.

TRAP 03

The “für” trap with medicine

A medicine is used against an illness (to treat it), so German wants gegen. für means “for the benefit of” (e.g. vitamins für die Gesundheit). English “tablets for headaches” is exactly the reflex that misleads you here.

Ich nehme Tabletten für Kopfschmerzen.

für is the wrong context; a medicine targets the illness.

Ich nehme Tabletten gegen Kopfschmerzen.

gegen = fighting / treating the illness.

Practice now

What you just learned

Ich komme ___ acht Uhr.
Show the answer
gegen. The preposition gegen is used for an approximate clock time.
To say what a pill is for, standard German says eine Tablette gegen Kopfschmerzen.
Show the answer
True. A medicine works against an illness (as a remedy): gegen Kopfschmerzen. In speech you also hear für Kopfschmerzen, but in writing and at the pharmacy gegen is the safe choice.
Translate into German: “We are against this idea.”
Show the answer
Wir sind gegen die Idee. gegen takes the accusative; with die Idee the article stays die in the accusative too. Option B is a dative mistake. Option C reverses the meaning.

The other accusative prepositions

Same group

Prepositions — overview the preposition für the preposition um the preposition ohne the preposition durch

07Build

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Tips

Know this before the test

The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.

gegen always takes the accusative
Opposition, impact, approximate time — whatever the meaning, gegen takes the accusative; there is no dative version.
Wir sind gegen die Idee.
A medicine works AGAINST something
English says “something for a headache”; German says gegen Kopfschmerzen. The most useful phrase at the pharmacy: Haben Sie etwas gegen …?
eine Tablette gegen Halsschmerzen
gegen acht = around eight
Approximate time takes gegen: gegen acht Uhr (around eight). Exact time is um acht Uhr.
Ich komme gegen acht.
You bump INTO something with gegen
gegen die Wand fahren · gegen das Tor fliegen — movement that ends in physical contact.
Der Ball flog gegen das Tor.

Das Medikament ist für Erkältung.
Das Medikament ist gegen Erkältung.
A medicine works against the illness; the English “for a cold” reflex misleads you.
Ich bin gegen dem Plan.
Ich bin gegen den Plan.
gegen never takes the dative.
um acht Uhr (when you mean “around eight”)
gegen acht Uhr
um gives the exact time; approximation belongs to gegen.
Bayern spielt mit Dortmund. (match)
Bayern spielt gegen Dortmund.
You play against the opponent; mit means being on the same team.

0707:30

Test yourself

Tap an answer — we will look at why together.

Translate into German: “We are against this idea.”

Wir sind gegen die Idee. gegen takes the accusative; with die Idee the article stays die in the accusative too. Option B is a dative mistake. Option C reverses the meaning.

“Around eight o’clock.” (not exact, approximate) In German:

Es ist gegen acht Uhr. For approximate time use gegen + a clock time with no article. B means “exactly eight”. C contains a wrong article.

Fill in the blank (say what the tablet is against): "Er nimmt eine Tablette Halsschmerzen."

gegen. When medicines are used against an illness (to treat it), gegen is required. für is the wrong context. bei Halsschmerzen (dative) means “when you have a sore throat”; it does not say what the tablet is against.

The correct German for “He doesn’t support the decision; he opposes it”:

Er stellt sich gegen die Entscheidung. sich gegen etw. stellen = to oppose something (accusative). With die Entscheidung the article stays die in the accusative. B reverses the meaning, C is a dative mistake.

You want to say “At exactly 10:00” for an appointment. Which preposition do you use?

um 10 Uhr. For exact, formal or transport times use um. gegen means approximately; an is for days (e.g. am Montag).

The ball hit the goal. Der Ball flog das Tor.

gegen. Hitting something is expressed with gegen and takes the accusative: das Tor is neuter, so the form doesn’t change. Writing gegen dem Tor would be dative, and gegen does not take the dative.

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Worksheet

gegen pocket card

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Dativ verbs

helfen · gefallen · gehören · geben

Dativ verbs are German verbs whose object goes in the dative case: helfen, gefallen, gehören, geben.

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Prepositions