Hello, If a preposition is used to show motion to a place, it is in the accusative case If a preposition is used to show location, it is in the dative case. Ich liege das Buch auf den Tisch (I lay the book on the table - accusative) Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch (The book lays on the table) When the preposition does not show neither motion to a place nor location, which case used? For example, There was rain on the last day. Which is correct - Es gab Regen am letzen Tag or Es gab Regen an den letzen Tag? Regards, Scott

Hi there, Es gab Regen am letzten Tag is the correct version. The different cases are used depending on the function of the noun in the sentence. The noun can be the subject, direct object or the indirect object of a sentence. The person or thing that is doing the action or is the center of attention in a sentence is called the subject of the sentence. The nominative case is always used for the subject of the sentence. The accusative is used for the direct object of a sentence. The direct object is the person, animal or thing that the action of the sentence is happening to. The dative is used for the indirect object, which is the person or thing to (or for) whom (or which) and action is performed. The "am" indicates that this is a dative, because "am" are "an" and "dem" joined together for pronunciation purposes. The dative is also called the "Wem- Fall", as you can use the question word "wem" to determine the dative in a sentence. "An wem oder was hat es geregnet?" - "An dem letzten Tag"