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Prepositions
A common alternative is an [ dative] … entlang, which indicates movement alongside (but not down the middle): They walked along the river. We drove along the wall.
Sie gingen am Fluss entlang. Wir fuhren an der Mauer entlang.
5.4 Prepositions with the genitive Prepositions followed by a noun phrase in the genitive are largely restricted to formal written language.
Four frequent prepositions governing the genitive (An)statt corresponds to English ‘instead of’: Instead of a letter he sent her an e-mail.
Statt eines Briefes schickte er ihr eine E-Mail. Trotz corresponds to English ‘despite’, ‘in spite of ’:
The festival took place despite the rain.
Trotz des Regens fand das Festival statt. Während refers to time English ‘during’: Während des Sommers blieben sie in Bozen.
They stayed in Bolzano during the summer.
Wegen corresponds to English ‘because of’: Sie konnten wegen des Schnees nicht kommen. They couldn’t come because of the snow. In colloquial speech these prepositions are often used with the DATIVE.
Other prepositions governing the genitive Eight further prepositions expressing position govern the genitive: außerhalb des Rings oberhalb des Hauses diesseits der Grenze beiderseits der Tür
outside above on this side of on either side of
innerhalb Berlins unterhalb des Knies jenseits des Meeres unweit der Stadt
inside, within underneath, below on the other side of not far from
These are often used with a following von instead of a genitive, especially in spoken German: Sie wohnt außerhalb des Ortes/außerhalb von dem Ort.
She lives outside the village/town.
