B1-75 · Use nouns with fixed prepositions
Politics basics
Learn nouns with fixed prepositions such as Interesse an and Angst vor, ask with woran and wovor, and name the basic institutions of German politics.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
Interest and fear
Some nouns are always followed by a fixed preposition, just like many verbs. Learn them as pairs: das Interesse an, die Angst vor. The case after the preposition is fixed too; an and vor take the dative in these pairs.
Lena hat großes Interesse an Politik.
Lena has a great interest in politics.
Ihr Bruder hat kein Interesse an Parteien.
Her brother has no interest in parties.
Manche Menschen haben Angst vor Veränderungen.
Some people are afraid of change.
Tim hat keine Angst vor einer Diskussion.
Tim isn't afraid of a discussion.
Die Partei (plural die Parteien) is a political party. Die Veränderung is a change. Don't translate English interest in with in: German says Interesse an.
02
In parliament
The German federal parliament is the Bundestag in Berlin. Its members, die Abgeordneten, are elected for four years. The Bundesrat represents the 16 federal states. The examples show more nouns with fixed prepositions.
| Meaning | Noun and preposition | Case |
|---|---|---|
| interest in | das Interesse an | Dativ |
| fear of | die Angst vor | Dativ |
| discussion about | die Diskussion über | Akkusativ |
| criticism of | die Kritik an | Dativ |
| right to | das Recht auf | Akkusativ |
| question about | die Frage zu | Dativ |
Im Bundestag gibt es eine Diskussion über das neue Gesetz.
In the Bundestag, there is a debate about the new law.
Die Opposition übt Kritik an der Regierung.
The opposition criticises the government.
Bürger haben ein Recht auf Information.
Citizens have a right to information.
Paul hat eine Frage zur Arbeit der Abgeordneten.
Paul has a question about the work of the members of parliament.
Die Regierung is the government, die Opposition the parties not in government, and das Gesetz a law. Über and auf take the accusative in these pairs.
03
Woran? Daran!
To ask about a thing, combine wo with the preposition: woran, wovor, worüber. To refer back to a thing already mentioned, use da: daran, davor, darüber. Add r when the preposition starts with a vowel.
Woran hast du Interesse?
What are you interested in?
Daran habe ich kein Interesse.
I'm not interested in that.
Wovor haben viele Menschen Angst?
What are many people afraid of?
Davor hat Tim keine Angst.
Tim isn't afraid of that.
These forms are only for things and ideas. For people, use the preposition with a pronoun: Vor wem hast du Angst?
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