Hello, dear students! Let's explore Wechselpräpositionen, German prepositions taking both Dative and Accusative cases.
The case depends on movement. If there's no movement, answering "Where?" (Wo?), use Dative. For example, "The book is on the table" – Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch (auf + Dative).
If there's movement, answering "Where to?" (Wohin?), use Accusative. For example, "I put the book onto the table" – Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch (auf + Accusative). The simple rule: no movement is Dative, movement is Accusative!