Accusative Preposition - ohne

German cases tell us the role of a noun. The Accusative case usually marks the direct object. Some prepositions, like ohne, trigger this case automatically. When you use ohne, you are describing an absence. You are saying what is missing. The most important thing to remember is the masculine gender. In the Accusative case, only the masculine changes. Feminine nouns stay the same. Neuter nouns stay the same. Plural nouns stay the same too. It is like a grammar traffic light. Green for feminine and neuter. Yellow for plural. But red for masculine! You must change der to den. You must change ein to einen. If you forget this, your sentence might feel a bit naked. Like going outside without a coat! See what I did there? That is ohne in action.

1. 1Using ohne follows a very specific three-step recipe. Follow these steps every time:
2. 2Pick your noun. For example, Hund (dog).
3. 3Identify the gender. Hund is masculine (der).
4. 4Apply the Accusative change. der becomes den or ein becomes einen.
5. 5Here is how it looks across all genders:
6. 6Masculine: ohne + den / einen / meinen (e.g., ohne einen Hund)
7. 7Feminine: ohne + die / eine / meine (e.g., ohne eine Katze)
8. 8Neuter: ohne + das / ein / mein (e.g., ohne ein Buch)
9. 9Plural: ohne + die / meine (e.g., ohne Kinder)
10. 10Notice how only the masculine gets that extra -en ending. It is the only one that wants to be special. The others are happy staying exactly as they are in the Nominative.

Use ohne whenever you want to express the absence of something. Real-world scenarios are everywhere! Imagine you are at a trendy cafe in Berlin. You want a coffee, but you hate sugar. You say: Ich trinke Kaffee ohne Zucker. Notice there is no article there. That is very common with food! Or maybe you are at a job interview. You want to say you can work without stress. You say: Ich arbeite gut ohne Stress.

Here are some common scenarios:

• Ordering food: Ein Burger ohne Zwiebeln, bitte!
• Travel: Ich reise nie ohne meinen Reisepass.
• Relationships: Ich kann nicht ohne dich leben. (Yes, pronouns change too!)
• Daily life: Geh nicht ohne deinen Schlüssel weg!

It is a very versatile word. You will use it for physical objects and abstract ideas. It works for people, things, and even concepts like "hope" or "fear."

Do not use ohne if you are trying to say "except for." For that, Germans use außer. ohne is strictly for "without." Also, do not use ohne with the Dative case. Even if the verb usually takes the Dative, ohne wins the argument. The preposition always dictates the case.

Another trap is the "Nullartikel." This means using no article at all. We do this for plural nouns or uncountable things like water or air. You say ohne Wasser, not ohne das Wasser, unless you mean a specific bottle. If you don't use an article, you don't need to worry about endings! That is the ultimate grammar hack. But be careful. If you use a possessive like "my" or "your," the Accusative rule returns immediately.

The biggest mistake is ignoring the masculine -en. Many learners say ohne mein Vater. This sounds wrong to a native ear. It must be ohne meinen Vater. Think of the -en as a little tail that masculine words grow when ohne is around.

Another mistake is mixing up ohne and mit. Remember: mit is always Dative. ohne is always Accusative. They are opposites in meaning and opposites in grammar! It is like they are from two different planets.

Sometimes people try to use ohne to start a sentence like "Without having money..." In German, that requires a special structure called ohne... zu. For now, stick to using ohne with simple nouns. Don't try to run before you can walk. Even native speakers trip over complex sentences sometimes. Just keep it simple and focus on those masculine endings.

Let's compare ohne with its best friend mit.

• mit: Uses Dative. mit dem Hund (masculine changes to dem).
• ohne: Uses Accusative. ohne den Hund (masculine changes to den).

See the difference? The masculine article is your biggest clue. Feminine and Neuter are less helpful because they look similar in both cases.

• mit der Frau (Dative) vs ohne die Frau (Accusative).
• mit dem Kind (Dative) vs ohne das Kind (Accusative).

If you learn ohne alongside durch, für, gegen, and um, you will have the "Accusative Five." These five prepositions always take the Accusative. Grouping them together in your mind makes them much easier to remember.