AkkusativVerb with preposition

denken an + Akkusativ

to think of

The verb denken an (to think of) always goes with the preposition an, and here an takes the Akkusativ (accusative). The preposition an can take the Akkusativ or the Dativ — with denken it is the Akkusativ, so learn the case together with the verb. The article follows the case: der Urlaub → an den Urlaub. For a thing you replace the whole phrase with daran; for a person you keep the preposition and use a pronoun: an sie. You ask “Woran denkst du?” about a thing and “An wen denkst du?” about a person.

At a glance

Case	Akkusativ
Preposition + article	an den (masculine)an die (feminine)an das (neuter)an die (plural)
Thing → da-word	daran
Question about a thing	Woran …?
Person → pronoun	an ihn · an sie · an sie (pl)
Question about a person	An wen …?

Example sentences

Ich denke oft an die Prüfung.
Denk bitte an den Termin!
Ich habe gestern an die Lehrerin gedacht.
Hast du an die Getränke gedacht?
Ich denke oft an die Familie.
Denk bitte an den Schlüssel!
Ich habe gestern an deinen Freund gedacht.
Hast du an das Ladekabel gedacht?

Replacing the phrase: daran or a pronoun

Thing

Ich denke oft an den Urlaub.

Ich denke oft daran.

Question: Woran denkst du?

Person

Ich denke oft an die Familie.

Ich denke oft an sie.

Question: An wen denkst du?

Typical mistake

Learners often use über here. The combination nachdenken über + Akkusativ exists too, but it means “to think about, to reflect on”. For “to think of” you need an + Akkusativ: Ich denke oft an den Urlaub.

Don't confuse with

nachdenken überAkkusativ

to think about, to reflect on

All verbs with prepositions Conjugation of denken Akkusativ vs Dativ

Drill denken an until it sticks

The free preposition trainer asks for the preposition with its article in real sentences, then the da-word and the question word. Verbs you miss come back a few tasks later in a different sentence.