The preposition von
die Präposition von
von is a preposition that always takes the Dativ: von mir, vom Arzt, von Montag bis Freitag.
von is one of the hardest-working prepositions in German: it means “from”, “of” and, in the passive, “by”. It has five jobs, and in every one of them it takes the Dativ.
One rule: von always takes the Dativ · the vom contraction
Shortcutvon dem normally becomes vom. von der does not contract; you write it out in full.
von has many meanings but only one piece of grammar: the Dativ, without exception. So the difficulty is not the case, it is when to use von and when to use aus — we sort that out in a section of its own below.
- von mir · von dir · von ihm · von ihr
- von uns · von euch · von ihnen · von Ihnen
- Das ist ein Geschenk von mir. — This is a gift from me.
The five jobs of von
| Job | In English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Coming from a person or institution | from | Ich komme vom Arzt. I’m coming from the doctor’s. |
| 2 · The giver | from (gift, message) | Das ist von meiner Mutter. This is from my mother. |
| 3 · Starting point | from … to | von Berlin nach Hamburg from Berlin to Hamburg |
| 4 · Possession | of · ’s | das Auto von meinem Vater my father’s car · the car of my father |
| 5 · The doer in a passive sentence | by | Der Brief wurde von Anna geschrieben. The letter was written by Anna. |
- Ich komme gerade von der Arbeit. I’m just coming from work. 1 · from an institution
- Ein Gruß von mir. Greetings from me. 2 · the giver
- Ich arbeite von 9 bis 17 Uhr. I work from 9 to 5. 3 · time span
- Von Montag bis Freitag habe ich Kurs. I have class from Monday to Friday. 3 · range of days
- Das Fahrrad von meinem Bruder My brother’s bike 4 · possession
- Er kommt von zu Hause. He’s coming from home. fixed phrase
von or aus — English “from” splits in two
ShortcutIf you come out of the inside of something, use aus; if you come from someone’s side, use von. Enclosed space → aus · person, institution, point → von.
English uses “from” for both, so you cannot see the difference. German has a three-way system, and the table below is the most useful part of this page.
| With | GOING → | BEING · | COMING ← |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person / institution doctor, work, barber | zum Arzt | beim Arzt | vom Arzt |
| Enclosed space cinema, kitchen | ins Kino | im Kino | aus dem Kino |
| City / country Berlin, Germany | nach Berlin | in Berlin | aus Berlin |
Where you are from is always aus: Ich komme aus Izmir. But if you are coming from work, class or the doctor’s, it is von: Ich komme von der Arbeit. One is your identity, the other is today’s route.
Possession with von — the spoken stand-in for the Genitiv
German says “my father’s car” in two ways. Written German uses the Genitiv; everyday speech uses von + Dativ, just like English “the car of my father”. Both are correct; which one you pick depends on where the sentence lives.
| Form | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Genitiv | das Auto meines Vaters | Writing, formal texts, exams |
| von + Dativ | das Auto von meinem Vater | Speech, everyday language |
Using the Genitiv in conversation is not wrong, but it sounds rather formal. At A1–A2 use the von form; give the Genitiv its own time on its own page.
With names, the Genitiv is very short: Annas Auto = das Auto von Anna. Unlike English, German normally has no apostrophe here — you only see Anna’s on shop signs.
Traps
von der Türkei
You do not use von to say where you are from. Origin is always aus, even though English says “from”.
Ich komme von der Türkei.
origin → aus
Ich komme aus der Türkei.
I’m from Turkey.
Contracting von der into “vor”
von contracts only with dem. vor is a completely different preposition and means “in front of” or “before” — mix them up and the whole sentence changes.
Ich komme vor der Arbeit.
this means “before work”
Ich komme von der Arbeit.
I’m coming from work.
von mich
von never takes the Akkusativ.
Das ist ein Geschenk von mich.
von → Dativ
Das ist ein Geschenk von mir.
This is a gift from me.
What you just learned
Der Brief wurde ___ Anna geschrieben.
Show the answer
von. In passive sentences the person who carries out the action is attached with the preposition von.
“Ich komme von der Türkei.” is correct for saying you are from Turkey.
Show the answer
False. To say where you are from, you always use aus: aus der Türkei.
My father’s car (spoken German)
Show the answer
das Auto von meinem Vater — von meinem Vater. von takes the Dativ; the masculine Dativ is meinem. In written German the same thing is das Auto meines Vaters.
The other Dativ prepositions
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- von = from a person or an activity
vom Arzt · von Anna · von der Arbeit. Coming out of the inside of a place is aus; the word for a source is von.
Ich komme von der Arbeit.
- von + Dativ, contracted to vom
von + dem = vom: vom Arzt · vom Bahnhof.
Ich komme vom Arzt.
- Possession: von + Dativ
In speech, instead of the Genitiv: das Auto von meinem Vater. Ranges use von … bis: von Montag bis Freitag.
das Auto von meinem Vater
- In the passive, the doer takes von
von Anna geschrieben · vom Chef unterschrieben. For an intermediary or a means, it is usually durch.
Der Brief wurde von Anna geschrieben.
Ich komme von der Türkei.
Ich komme aus der Türkei.
Your home country needs aus.
Ich komme aus dem Arzt.
Ich komme vom Arzt.
Coming back from a person is von.
von meinen Vater das Auto
das Auto von meinem Vater
von takes the Dativ: meinem.
Der Brief wurde durch Anna geschrieben.
Der Brief wurde von Anna geschrieben.
The PERSON who does the action takes von.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
I’m coming from work.
Ich komme Arzt. (from the doctor’s)
I’m coming from the doctor’s.
I have class from Monday to Friday.
I have class from Monday to Friday.
My father’s car (spoken German)
The letter was written by Anna.
This is a gift from me.
This is a gift from me.
Practice done — –
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von pocket card
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Prepositions and cases
für dich, mit dir
German prepositions are small words that come before a noun, link it to the sentence and decide its case: für dich, mit dir.
Genitiv
des · der · wegen · trotz
The Genitiv is the German case of possession, and certain prepositions also require it: des Mannes, der Frau, trotz des Regens.
Passive
werden + Partizip II
The German passive is the structure where the subject undergoes the action instead of doing it: werden + Partizip II.