Classroom – German

German Adverbs (das Adverb)

Adverbs are words that do not change (they are not declined) and they modify the verb’s meaning, an adjective or other adverb.

       Types of adverbs

Temporal adverbs dealing with the day

Adverb Meaning
vorgestern the day before yesterday
gestern yesterday
heute today
morgen tomorrow
übermorgen the day after tomorrow
 

Subjective Temporal Adverbs

Adverb Meaning
damals then
früher earlier
jetzt now
sofort immediately
gleich immediately
bald soon
später later
dann after/then

Temporal adverb gerade

The adverb gerade is used to make the present continuous in German:

Ich lese gerade die Zeitung I am reading the newspaper

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of Absolute Frequency

Adverb Meaning
immer always
fast immer almost always
meistens most of the time
häufig frequently
oft often
ab und zu once in a while
manchmal sometimes
selten rarely
fast nie almost never
nie never

Adverbs of daily frequency

Adverb Meaning
morgens in the morning
nachmittags in the afternoon
abends in the evening
nachts during the night

Adverbs of weekly frecuency

Adverb Meaning
montags on Mondays
dienstags on Tuesdays
mittwochs on Wednesdays
donnerstags on Thursdays
freitags on Fridays
samstags on Saturdays
sonntags on Sundays

Other adverbs of frequency

Adverb Meaning
täglich daily
wöchentlich weekly
monatlich monthly
jährlich yearly/annually

Forming temporal adverbs by adding an -s

Often, temporal adverbs of frequency are formed from nouns with an “–s” added on. At first, this construction creates a bit of confusion among students of German.
Noun Adverb
der Abend the evening abends in the evenings
der Halbtag half a day halbtags half-day
der Feiertag the holiday feiertags every holiday

Locative Adverbs

oben und unten

Locative adverbs of place

Adverb Meaning
vorn / vorne in front
hinten behind
links on the left
rechts on the right
oben up
unten down
innen inside
außen outside
hier here
da there
dort there
überall everywhere
nirgends nowhere
hinein Locative adverbs with the particles “hin” and “her”. The particles “hin” and “her” denote the direction of movement with respect to the person that is speaking. These particles are used often to make adverbs. Here are some examples so that you understand better:

hinein

If my child and I are outside of the house and I want to tell him to go inside (for example, to do his chores), I’d say:

Geh hinein! Go inside!

heraus

heraus

If I am outside of the house and my child is inside and I want him to come out (for example, to cut the grass), I’d say:

Komm heraus! Come outside! herein

herein

If I am inside the house and my son is playing in the garden and I want him to come in (for example, to eat), I’d say:

Komm herein! Come inside! hinaus

hinaus

If my child and I are inside the house and I want to tell him to go out (for example, to play in the garden), I’d say:

Geh hinaus! Go outside!

Locative adverbs that indicate movement

Adverb Meaning
aufwärts upwards
abwärts downwards
vorwärts forwards
rückwärts backwards
heimwärts homeward
westwärts to the west
bergauf uphill
bergab downhill

Construction of locative adverbs by adding an -s

In German, locative adverbs are also formed by adding an “–s” to nouns.
Noun Locative adverb
das Rechte right rechts to the right
die Linke left links to the left

Causal Adverbs

Causal adverbs indicate the reason or origin of an action.
Adverb Meaning
deshalb therefore
darum therefore
deswegen therefore
folglich thus/consequently
daher therefore
Causal adverbs serve as a connection between two sentences, given that they’re Konjunktionaladverbien

Ich möchte in Deutschland leben, deshalb lerne ich gerade Deutsch I would like to live in Germany, therefore I am learning German

It must be emphasized that adverbs occupy a position and by placing them at the beginning of a sentence, they move the subject to the 3rd position. Main Article: Sentence structure

Adverbs of manner

Adverb Meaning
erstens firstly
zweitens secondly
drittens thirdly
auch also
ebenfalls as well
ansonsten otherwise
außerdem in addition

Restrictive adverbs

Adverb Meaning
nur only
wenigstens at least
hingegen on the other hand

Adverbs of quantity

Adverb Meaning
sehr very
kaum hardly

gern / gerne

The adverb “gern” is used often in German and it’s equivalent is “gladly”. The construction “Ich hätte gern…” is very common in German and means “I would like to” and is used to politely order something. gern or gerne are exactly the same but gern is used more often.

Pronoun Adverbs

Pronoun adverbs are the combination of a preposition and a pronoun and are used only to refer to things (not for living things).

Adverbs “da-” + preposition

The adverbs “da-” + preposition are used very often and their translation depends greatly on the context:

Ich habe nicht daran gedacht I didn’t think about that

Adverb Meaning
daran (or dran) at it (preposition an)
darauf (or drauf) on it (preposition auf)
daraus from it (preposition aus)
dabei present (preposition bei)
dagegen against it (preposition gegen)
darin in it (preposition in)
damit with it (preposition mit)
darüber about it (preposition über)
darum therefore (preposition um)
dazu additionally (preposition zu)
The prepositions are not exactly the same in German and English and thus the translation is not exact. Check out prepositions to get the best translation in every case.

Adverbs hier + preposition

The adverbs “hier-” + preposition have practically the same meaning as adverbs da + “preposition” though they are used much less often. Their meaning depends greatly on the context.
Adverb Meaning
hieran at this (prepoition an)
hierauf on this (preposition auf)
hieraus from this (preposition aus)
hierbei with this or at this (preposition bei)
hiergegen against this (preposition gegen)
hierin in this (preposition in)
hiermit with this (preposition mit)
hierüber about this (preposition über)
hierzu for this (preposition zu)

Interrogative adverbs

Main article: Interrogative particles The most important interrogative adverbs are:
  • Wann(when)
  • Warum(why)
  • Wieso (why)
Wie (how)
  • Wie alt (how old)
  • Wie viel (how much/many)
  • Wie lange (how long)
  • Wie oft (how often)
  • Wie teuer (how expensive)
  • Wie weit (how far)
Wo (where)
  • Woran (whereof)
  • Worauf (where upon)
  • Woraus (what from)
  • Wobei (in which/ whereat)
  • Wogegen (against what)
  • Worin (wherein)
  • Womit (whereby)
  • Worüber (what about)
  • Worum (what about)
  • Wozu (what for)
  • Wohin (where to)
  • Woher (from where)

Comparative and superlative with adverbs

Some adverbs can make comparatives and superlatives like adjective. This is the case with “bald”, “gern”, “oft”, and “wohl”.
Adverb Comparative Superlative
bald soon eher sooner am ehesten soonest
gern gladly lieber preferably am liebsten most preferably
oft often öfter more often am häufigsten most often
wohl well wohler better am wohlsten best

Adjectives functioning like adverbs

In many cases, adjectives can function like adverbs:

Das Auto ist schnell [schnell as an adjective] The car is fast

Sie isst schnell [schnell as an adverb] She eats fast

Spoken German

Speak German Fluently

Introduction

We can divide adverbs into various categories, depending on whether they provide information about place, time, reason, or manner. We call these, respectively, locative adverbs, temporal adverbs, causal adverbs, and modal adverbs. Besides these types, there are also relative adverbs and conjunctional adverbs.
Gestern war ich mit Freunden auf einem Rockkonzert. Rolf und ich kamen später. Unsere Freunde warteten deshalb nicht da auf uns, wowir uns verabredet hatten. Als wir ankamen, standen unsere Freundeganz vorn an der Bühne. Aber dortdrängten sich die Fans, darum blieben Rolf und ich hinten stehen. Als das Konzert anfing, begannen die Fans, laut zu kreischen. Man verstandkaum ein Wort, worüber ich mich ärgerte. Aber die Besucher des Konzerts waren größtenteils junge Mädchen, die bereits beim ersten Songreihenweise umfielen. Somit lichteten sich die Reihen und wir standen baldbei unseren Freunden.
Zeichnung

Locative Adverbs

Locative adverbs can be the answer to the questions “Where/Where … to/Where … from?”
Example:
Als wir ankamen, standen unsere Freunde ganz vorn an der Bühne.
Aber dort drängten sich die Fans, darum blieben Rolf und ich hinten stehen.
Some important locative adverbs are, for example:
German English
aufwärts upwards
außen outside
da here/there
dort there/over there
drinnen inside
fort away
hier here
hierhin up to here
hinein into
hinten behind
irgendwo somewhere
links left (of)
nebenan near
oberhalb above
überall everywhere
unten below
vorn in front

Temporal Adverbs

Temporal adverbs are the answer to the questions “When/How long/How often/Until when/Since when?”
Example:
Gestern war ich mit Freunden auf einem Rockkonzert.
Aber die Besucher fielen bereits beim ersten Song reihenweise um.
Some important temporal adverbs are, for example:
German English
bald soon
bereits already
bisher until now
danach thereafter
davor beforehand
einst once
endlich eventually/finally
freitags on Fridays
gestern yesterday
immer always
inzwischen meanwhile
neulich recently/lately
nie never
oft often
regelmäßig regularly
sofort immediately
stets constantly
täglich daily
vorhin earlier
zurzeit at the time

Modal Adverbs

Modal adverbs are the answer to the questions “How/How much?”
Example:
Als wir ankamen, standen unsere Freunde ganz vorn an der Bühne.
Man verstand kaum ein Wort.
Die Besucher des Konzerts warengrößtenteils junge Mädchen, die bereits beim ersten Song reihenweise umfielen.
Some important modal adverbs are, for example:
German English
anders different
äußerst extremely
beinahe nearly
bekanntlich famously
ebenfalls likewise
fast almost
folgendermaßen as follows
ganz completely
genauso exactly like
genug enough
gern gladly
größtenteils mostly
hauptsächlich mainly
hoffentlich hopefully
kaum hardly
leider unfortunately
möglicherweise possibly
reihenweise row after row, by the dozen
sehr very
so so/thus/in that way
vielleicht perhaps
wirklich truly/really

Causal Adverbs

Causal adverbs are the answer to the questions “How so/For what reason/Why/Under what condition?”
Example:
Unsere Freunde warteten deshalb nicht auf uns.
Darum blieben Rolf und ich hinten stehen.
Somit lichteten sich die Reihen.
Some important causal adverbs are, for example:
German English
also so, therefore
anstandshalber for decency’s sake
dadurch through that/because of that
darum therefore/because of that
demnach thus/according to that
demzufolge whereby/accordingly
deshalb therefore
folglich consequently
sicherheitshalber preventatively
somit thus/therefore
trotzdem despite that

Relative Adverbs

We use relative adverbs in relative clauses. Relative adverbs usually refer to part of a sentence.
Example:
Unsere Freunde warteten deshalb nicht da auf uns, wo wir uns verabredet hatten.
Man verstand kaum ein Wort, worüberich mich ärgerte.
Some relative adverbs are, for example:
German English
wo where
womit with which
wofür for which
worüber about which

Conjunctional Adverbs

We can use some adverbs to tie clauses together. Because these adverbs serve as conjunctions, they are called conjunctional adverbs. The clause that begins with a conjunctional adverb has the following form: conjunctional adverb + finite verb + subject + rest of the clause
Example:
Dort drängten sich die Fans, darum blieben Rolf und ich hinten stehen.
Some conjunctional adverbs are, for example:
German English
außerdem besides
danach thereafter
deshalb therefore
folglich consequently
schließlich finally
trotzdem despite that
zuvor previously
Conjunctional adverbs can never be made comparative.

To Note

The conjunctional adverbs are the same as the causal adverbs in many cases (deshalb, daher, trotzdem, …). The difference in their categorisation depends on which meaning is more important. When we want to emphasise that an adverb gives information about a reason, we describe it as a causal adverb.
Example:
Rolf und ich kamen später. Unsere Freunde warteten deshalb nicht auf uns.
Aber dort drängten sich die Fans, darum blieben Rolf und ich hinten stehen.
If, however, we want to differentiate the type of connection between two parts of a sentence (is it a conjunction, subjunction, or a conjunctional adverb?), then we use the term conjunctional adverb.
Example:
Rolf und ich kamen später, deshalb warteten unsere Freunde nicht auf uns.
Aber dort drängten sich die Fans, darum blieben Rolf und ich hinten stehen.
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German Capitalization & Punctuation

German Language Classses

Capitalization & Punctuation

  • As you may have noticed by now, all nouns are capitalized in German, wherever they appear in a sentence. This is a nearly unique feature in a contemporary language, and it’s helpful in parsing sentences when there are words you don’t know. We used to do it in English, as you can see in old documents like the U.S. Constitution.
  • Sie (the formal “you”) is always capitalized. This also applies to the related forms Ihnenand Ihr, although not to the reflexive pronoun sich.
  • Unlike the English I, the first-person singular pronoun ich is not capitalized unless it begins a sentence
  • Unlike in English, adjectives describing nationality, ethnicity and religion (the American car) are not capitalized in German (das amerikanische Auto) unless they’re part of a proper noun (Deutsche Bank)
  • As in the rest of continental Europe, decimal points and commas are reversed in writing numbers (e.g. a coffee might cost 1,50€ while a car costs 15.000€)
  • Typically the format for German quotation marks is „___“ (rather than “___”), with the opening quote mark upside down and both of them curling outwards.
  • French chevron-style quotation marks («___») are also sometimes used, although German tends to invert
  • Unlike in English, a comma can link two independent clauses in German
  • du and its related forms (dich/dir/euch) used to be capitalized like Sie, and some people still capitalize them, especially in correspondence. This is certainly not wrong, but’s no longer standard, and you don’t need to do it unless you want to.
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German Noun Declension

Regular declension, n-declension and exceptions There are three genders for nouns in German: Masculine (männlich), feminine (weiblich) and neuter (sächlich).

Capitalized Nouns

One important thing as we get started: All nouns are written with the first letter capitalized. “the house” is written as “das Haus”. Regular declension, n-declension and exceptions

Genders

There are three genders in German: masculine (männlich), feminine (weiblich) and neuter (sächlich). Usually, the gender of a noun is determined by its ending. The articles der, die and das are used with nouns to indicate their gender:
  • der Mann (the man) [Masculine Noun]
  • die Frau (the woman) [Feminine Noun]
  • das Kind (the child) [Neuter Noun]
It’s not easy to know which gender a noun is. There are a few rules for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. However, usually there is no choice but to learn each word’s gender.

Declension

A noun in English, “house” for example, does not change even if we change the role it plays in a phrase. The house is pretty (“house” is the subject in this case) We bought a house (“a house” is the direct object). As you see, the word house is not declined. You just add “s” in English to make the plural. It’s very simple. Unfortunately, it is not always like this in German. This might cause you a bit of despair when you start learning German. For example, in the phrase, “Erkrankungen des Herzens”, the word “Herzens” (heart in genitive form) does not appear in the dictionary. That is because it is declined and, instead of that word, you have to look for “Herz” (heart in nominative form). It is a bit complicated but don’t worry about it. you will get it.

Regular noun declension

As a general rule, an “-n” or an “-an” are added to all nouns in the dative plural. If the noun in the plural ends with “-n” or “-s,” nothing will be added.

Masculine or Neuter Nouns

An “-s” or an “-es” is added in the genitive singular. Sometimes both options are ok. In general, if a word ends with “-e”, an “-s” is added in the genitive and if it ends with “-s” or “-z” and “-es” is added. Example for a neuter noun:
Singular Plural
Nominative das Gas die Gase
Accusative das Gas die Gase
Dative dem Gas also: dem Gase den Gasen
Genitive des Gases der Gase
Although it is not very common today, sometimes an “-e” is added to the dative singular. Nowadays, you can see this is some phrases:

Ich gehe nach Hause I am going home

Hause is the old declension in the dative singular for das Haus (house).

Dem deutschen Volke For the German people

Volke is the classic declension of Volk (people) in the dative singular.

Feminine Nouns

Feminine nouns do not change in the genitive singular.
Singular Plural
Nominative die Kraft die Kräfte
Accusative die Kraft die Kräfte
Dative der Kraft den Kräften
Genitive der Kraft der Kräfte
Interestingly, a large portion of feminine plural nouns end with “-n,” meaning that luckily the majority of feminine plural nouns do not change.
Singular Plural
Nominative die Lampe die Lampen
Accusative die Lampe die Lampen
Dative der Lampe den Lampen
Genitive der Lampe der Lampen

N-Declension

Some masculine nouns and a few neuter ones have a declension that is different from the usual one and it is called the “N-Deklination” (N-Declension).
Singular Plural
Nominative der Kunde die Kunden
Accusative den Kunden die Kunden
Dative dem Kunden den Kunden
Genitive des Kunden der Kunden
If we look closely at all of the forms except for the nominative singular, they have an “-n” ending. This is why it is called “N-Deklination”. Sometimes, an “-en” is added instead of adding an “-n”. For example, the noun “Mensch”.

Examples of nouns with n declension

  • Most masculine nouns ending with “-e” but not der See or der Käse or der Deutsche and which represents professions or nationalities or people such as der Experte.
  • Many nouns that represent professions or nationalities or people such as: der Herr, der Astronom, der Architekt.
  • Latin or Greek words ending with:-at as in der Soldat, der Advokat, der Diplomat.-ant as in der Elefant, der Diamant, der Lieferant.-ent as in der Student.-ist as in der Journalist, der Zivilist, der Violinist, der Polizist.

N-Deklination + genitive with “ns”

Sometimes, the genitive is formed with “-ns” instead of “-n”.
Singular Plural
Nominative der Name die Namen
Accusative den Namen die Namen
Dative dem Namen den Namen
Genitive des Namens der Namen
Examples of nouns with genitive “-ns”: der Friede, der Name, der Funke, der Gedanke, der Glaube, der Same, der Wille, der Buchstabe.

Exceptions

Doubling the -s

Some nouns that end with “-s” have another “-s” added in the declension.
Singular Plural
Nominative der Bus die Busse
Accusative den Bus die Busse
Dative dem Bus den Bussen
Genitive des Busses der Busse
A short reminder about pronunciation: The “ss” indicates that the preceding vowel is shortened.

Das Herz

“Herz” has an irregular declension. It is also one of the few neuter nouns with the “-n” declension.
Singular Plural
Nominative das Herz die Herzen
Accusative das Herz die Herzen
Dative dem Herzen den Herzen
Genitive des Herzens der Herzen
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The genitive case in German

The genitive case has four functions. It is widely rumored that the genitive case is falling out of usage in German. This statement only applies conditionally to certain functions of the genitive; these will be noted below.

1) Possession & relationships

The genitive case indicates that noun belongs to or bears some kind of relationship with someone or something. The genitive is rendered in English as a possessive with an ‘s or with the preposition of.
EXAMPLES:
Die Farbe meiner Augen ist blau.  The color of my eyes is blue. The genitive specifies that a quality –the color — “of my eyes” is being discussed.
Der Beruf des Mannes ist Arzt.  The profession of the man is doctor. The genitive “of the man” indicates whose profession is being discussed.
Der Bruder meiner Freundin heißt Lars.  My girlfriend’s brother is named Lars. The genitive “of my girlfriend” indicates whose brother is being discussed.
Note that the genitive construction typically follows the noun that it modifies (like the English construction using of). An exception to this is the use of proper names in the genitive, which simply add an –s or, if the name already ends in -s, an apostrophe.
Susans Kusine kommt zu Besuch. Arnold Schwarzeneggars Heimatstadt ist Thal in Österreich. Hans Auto ist in der Werkstatt.
In colloquial German, genitives denoting possession and relationships are sometimes replaced by von + the dative:
Die Farbe von meinen Augen ist blau. Der Beruf von dem Mann ist Arzt. Der Bruder von meiner Freundin heißt Lars. Die Kusine von Susan kommt zu Besuch.
In formal standard German, however, the genitive of possession and relationships occurs frequently.

2) Object of a genitive preposition

The object of an accusative preposition takes the genitive case in formal standard German. These are some of the more common genitive prepositions:
(an)statt instead of jenseits on the other side of
anlässlich on the occasion of kraft by virtue of
anstelle in place of laut according to
aufgrund on the basis of seitens on the part of
außerhalb outside of trotz despite, in spite of
bezüglich with regard to während during
innerhalb within wegen because of
EXAMPLES OF USAGE:
Er wohnt außerhalb der Stadt.  He lives outside the city. “The city” is the object of the genitive prep.außerhalb.
Trotz des Regens spielen wir Fußball.  We’re playing soccer despite the rain. “The rain” is the object of the genitive prep. trotz.
Aufgrund dieses Fehlers wurde ich entlassen.  I was fired on the basis of this mistake. “This mistake” is the object of the genitive prep.aufgrund.
In colloquial German, some of these prepositions — wegen, während, trotz, laut — are frequently used with the dative, although this is generally regarded as incorrect in standard formal written German. Note, however, that the genitive and dative forms of feminine nouns are identical.

3) Object of a genitive verb or genitive construction

A number of verbs, adjectives, and idiomatic expressions require a genitive object in German. There used to be many more such genitive expressions in German (as in English to avail oneself of, to take note of), but these have become replaced over time with other verbs and prepositional phrases. In general, the genitive verbs that are still used convey a highly educated tone.
sich annehmen to see to sich enthalten to refrain from
sich bedienen to make use of gedenken to think of
bedürfen to be in need of sich rühmen to boast of
sich bemächtigen to take control of sich vergewissern to make certain of
EXAMPLES OF USAGE:
Er bedient sich einer Metapher.  He makes use of a metaphor. “A metaphor” is the genitive obj. of the verb sich bedienen.
Hartholzmöbel bedürfen einer besondern Pflege. Hard wood furniture is in need of special care. “Special care” is the genitive obj. of the verb bedürfen.
In addition to the genitive verbs, a number of adjectives and other idiomatic phrases are used with genitive objects. Here are some of them:
bedürftig in need sicher certain
bewusst conscious verdächtig suspicious
gewiß certain wert worth
schuldig guilty würdig worthy
Notice that the genitive objects that accompany these adjectives are often rendered in English with an accompanying “of”. There is no need to add an additional preposition to the German sentence, since these meanings are included when the noun or pronoun is declined in the genitive case.
EXAMPLES OF USAGE:
Sie ist des Mordes schuldig.  She is guilty of the murder. “(Of) the murder” is the genitive object of the adjective “guilty”.
Es ist der Mühe nicht wert.  It is not worth the effort. “The effort” is the genitive object of the adjective “worth”.
Anna war sich der Gefahr bewusst.  Anna was aware of the danger. “(Of) the danger” is the genitive object of the adjective “aware”

4) Expressions of indefinite time

Expressions of non-specific time that are (1) not adverbs (e.g., irgendwann, manchmal) and (2) not governed by a preposition (e.g., seiteiner Ewigkeit) take the genitive case.
EXAMPLES:
Eines Tages besuchen wir München.  Someday we’ll visit Munich. “Someday” is an expression of indefinite time.
Eines Abends war ich bei Freunden.  One evening I was at my friends’ place. “One evening” is an expression of indefinite time.

Nouns in the GENITIVE CASE

Finally, here are some examples of nouns in the genitive case. Genitive pronouns are used infrequently and only in elevated speech. Words and endings in red indicate a change in form from the dative.
Nouns Personal Pronouns
masculine feminine neuter plural
des Onkels dieses Onkels eines Onkels keines Onkels unseresOnkels der Tante dieser Tante einer Tante keiner Tante unserer Tante des Buches diesesBuches eines Buches keinesBuches unseresBuches der Kinder dieser Kinder Kinder keiner Kinder unsererKinder not commonly used in the genitive case
[pun:] Geh nicht tief ins Wasser, weil es da tief ist.
The care of one tooth is simple. But you have a couple more of them.
  The Genitive Case in English: English shows possession through the genitive case, which marks the noun in question with “-‘s” (or in a plural already ending in “-s” with just the apostrophe): “the horse’s mouth”; “the books’ covers.” One can also use a prepositional phrase with “of”: “the color of the car” (= “the car’s color”).   Forming the Genitive in German: Like the nominative, accusative, and dative cases, the genitive case is marked by pronouns, articles and adjective endings. In the genitive, there is no distinction between a “der-word” and an “ein-word.”1 As a rule, one-syllable nouns take an “-es” in the masculine or neuter (des Mannes), although colloquial speech will sometime add just -s. Multi-syllabic ones take just “-s”:(des Computers):  
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
des roten Stuhles der neuen Lampe des alten Buches der roten Stühle
roten Stuhles neuer Lampe alten Buches alter Bücher
Note that the possessive adjectives (mein, dein, sein, ihr, etc.) are not genitive in and of themselves. Nor is the interrogative wessen (= “whose”). As in the accusative and dative cases, the so-called weak masculine nouns take an “-n” or “-en” in the genitive. For example:  
 nom. acc. dat. gen.  der Mensch den Menschen dem Menschen des Menschen [human]  der Nachbar den Nachbarn dem Nachbarn des Nachbarn [neighbor]  der Herr den Herrn dem Herrn des Herrn [lord; gentleman]  der Held den Helden dem Helden des Helden [hero]
 nom. acc. dat. gen.  der Bote den Boten dem Boten des Boten [messenger]  der Kunde den Kunden dem Kunden des Kunden [customer]  der Junge den Jungen dem Jungen des Jungen [boy]  der Experte den Experten dem Experten des Experten [expert]
 nom. acc. dat. gen.  der Jude den Juden dem Juden des Juden [Jew]  der Russe den Russen dem Russen des Russen [Russian]  der Kollege den Kollegen dem Kollegen des Kollegen [colleague]  der Riese den Riesen dem Riesen des Riesen [giant]
Other endings of weak nouns are “-ant,” “-arch,” “-ege,” “-ent,” “-ist,” “-oge,” “-om,” “-oph,” and “-ot.” Some examples:  
 der Buddist [Buddhist]  der Katholik [Catholic]  der Protestant [Protestant]  der Pilot [pilot]
 der Student [student]  der Komödiant [comedian]  der Astronom [astronomer]  der Patriarch [patriarch]
 der Philosoph [philosopher]  der Fotograf [photographer]  der Enthusiast [enthusiast]  der Anthropologe [anthropologist]
Again: note that all of these nouns are masculine. Furthermore, their plural forms are the same as their accusative, dative, and genitive singular forms: e.g., den Studenten, dem Studenten, des Studenten; [plural:] die Studenten, den Studenten, der Studenten.(“Herr” is an exception: den Herrn, dem Herrn, des Herrn; [plural:] die Herren, den Herren, der Herren). Typically, dictionaries identify weak nouns by giving not only the plural but also the weak ending: “der Bauer (-n, -n) farmer, peasant.” The first ending that is cited is that of the genitive case. With weak nouns the accusative and the dative are usually identical with the genitive – but not always. A few weak nouns add “-ns,” for example:  
 nom. acc. dat. gen.  der Glaube den Glauben dem Glauben des Glaubens [belief]  der Wille den Willen dem Willen des Willens [will]  der Gedanke den Gedanken dem Gedanken des Gedankens [thought]  der Name den Namen dem Namen des Namens [name]
One neuter noun is also weak in the dative and takes an “-ens” in the genitive:  
 nom. acc. dat. gen.  das Herz das Herz dem Herzen des Herzens [heart]
  While the Latin accusative and dative forms of Jesus Christus (Jesum Christum, Jeso Christo) are not used in modern German, the genitive is: Jesu Christi. The genitive personal pronouns are rare nowadays, but they do exist (some further examples of their use can be found below):  
 meiner = (of) me  unser = (of) us
 deiner = (of) you  eurer = (of) y’all
 Ihrer = (of) you
 seiner = (of) him ihrer = (of) her seiner  = (of) it  ihrer = (of) them
The demonstrative pronoun, on the other hand, is commonly employed:  
 dessen = (of) him/it (masc.) derer = (of) her/it (fem.) dessen  = (of) it (neut.)  derer = (of) them
 
Wir danken im Namen derer, die in Nöte geraten sind.  We give thanks in the name of those who have come into hardship.
 Meine Brüder und deren Kinder sind schon angekommen. My brothers and their children have already arrived.
In ambiguous situations, the demonstrative possessive pronoun points to the nearest preceding (i.e. the latter) noun:  
Pauls Sohn und dessen Freunde haben Hunger. Paul’s son and (Paul’s) son’s friends are hungry.
[not: Paul’s son and (Paul’s) friends are hungry].
When such a pronoun depends on a preceding noun, desselben or derselben can be employed:  
Das Mikroskop, Theorie und Anwendung desselben.  The Microscope: its Theory and Use [book title]
 Die meisten Glaubenslehrer verteidigen ihre Sätze nicht, weil sie von der Wahrheit derselben überzeugt sind, sondern weil sie diese Wahrheit einmal behauptet haben. Most doctrinal theologians defend their propositions, not because they are convinced of the truth of them, but because they have at one point asserted that truth. [aphorism by G. C. Lichtenberg]
Further pronoun examples can be found below.
[There is room in this subway car for] 2 bicycles. No bringing [a bike] along when this car is traveling at the front of the train.
Using the Genitive Case in German: Germans will often assert that the genitive is disappearing from the language. It is certainly used less than one or two centuries ago, but it still occupies an important position. Primarily, the genitive designates a relationship between two nouns in which one of them belongs to the other. The former can be in any case, but the latter is in the genitive:  
Was ist die Telefonnummer deiner schönen Kusine? What is your beautiful cousin’s phone number?
Sie hat den Brief ihres Vaters gar nicht gesehen. She never saw her father’s letter.
Das Bild deiner Frau ist besonders gut. Your wife’s picture is particularly good.
Der Motor dieses Autos ist viel zu klein. This car’s engine is much too small.
Die größte Liebe aller deutschen Männer ist Fußball. The greatest love of all German men is soccer.
Das Dach des Hauses war unbeschädigt. The roof of the house was undamaged.
 
Success is the sum of correct decisions
  Note that the genitive noun comes second. The opposite sounds either archaic or poetic:  
“Das also war des Pudels Kern!” [Goethes Faust] So that was the poodle’s core!
Proper names in the genitive do precede the noun, however. If the name already ends in “-s” or “-z,” then an apostrophe is added:2  
Was hast du mit Roberts altem Computer gemacht? What did you do with Robert’s old computer?
Veronikas neuer Freund ist schön. Veronika’s new boyfriend is handsome.
Heinz’ Hut ist wirklich hässlich. Heinz’s hat is really ugly.
  In colloquial speech Germans often use the preposition von (with the dative, of course) instead of the genitive:  
Ist das der Freund von deinem Bruder? Is that your brother’s friend?
Wir suchen das Haus von seiner Mutter. We’re looking for his mother’s house.
 
The Dative is the Death of the Genitive. A Guide through the Labyrinth of the German Language [book by Bastian Sick]
This construction with “von” is always used if there is no article to mark the genitive:  
Er ist ein Freund von mir. He’s a friend of mine.
Das Abstellen von Farhrädern ist verboten. The parking of bicycles is forbidden.
Uneducated Germans sometimes use the dative and a possessive adjective to create a genitive effect: Bist du dem Mann seine Frau?  Are you the man’s wife? The genitive is used to indicate an indefinite day or part of the day:  
Eines Tages sollten wir das machen. Some day we ought do that.
Eines Morgens hat er vergessen, sich die Schuhe anzuziehen. One morning he forgot to put his shoes on.
Eines Sonntags gehen wir in die Kirche. Some Sunday we’ll go to church.

Although Nacht is feminine, it here – and only here – assumes an analogous structure: Sie isteines Nachts weggelaufen. She ran away one night.
“I go to Block House [a chain of steak houses] only because of the salad.” “That’s what they all say.”
Prepositions that take the genitive: A number of prepositions take a genitive object. The most common are statt and anstatt [instead of], trotz [in spite of],wegen [because of] and während [during]. In normal speech, German often use the dative after trotz and wegen.The grammar-police find that appalling, but in fact the dative is actually the older form.  
Statt eines Regenmantels trägt er einen Schirm. Instead of a raincoat he carries an umbrella.
Trotz der Kälte wollen wir schwimmen gehen. Despite the cold we want to go swimming.
Wegen der Arbeit meines Vaters mussten wir oft umziehen. Because of my father’s work we often had to move.
Wir machen alles des Kindes wegen. We’re doing everything on account of the child.
Während des Sommers wohnt er bei seinen Großeltern. During the summer he lives with his grandparents.
When just a masculine or neuter noun follows the preposition, there is no genitive “-s”:  
Anstatt Fleisch isst sie Tofu. Instead of meat she eats tofu.
Note also:  
Er entschuldigte sich immer wieder wegen seines schlechten Deutsch. He apologized repeatedly on account of his bad German.
Trotz ihres guten Französisch konnte sie nichts verstehen. In spite of her good French she couldn’t understand a thing.
Less frequently used are außerhalb [outside of], innerhalb [inside of], oberhalb [above], unterhalb [beneath], diesseits [on this side of], and jenseits [on the other side of]:  
Sie wohnen außerhalb der Stadt. They live outside the city.
Nur ein Spieler darf innerhalb dieses Kreises stehen. Only one player is allowed to stand inside this circle.
Oberhalb dieser Linie gibt es ein paar Kratzer. Above this line there are a couple of scratches.
Die Leber sitzt unterhalb der Lunge. The liver is beneath the lung.
Diesseits der Grenze spricht man Deutsch, aber jenseits spricht man Holländisch. On this side of the border German is spoken, but on the other side they speak Dutch.
 
The grand race of the lowest prices.
George O. Curme’s Grammar of the German Language (New York: Macmillan, 1922) lists a total of 123 prepositions that take the genitive (p. 357), but most are very rare or confined to legal language. They include anlässlich [on the occasion of], angesichts [in the face of; in view of],infolge [as a result of; owing to], ungeachtet [despite; notwithstanding], etc. Genitive prepositions do not form “da-” compounds. Instead we use genitive demonstrative pronouns, getting structures like während dessen [in the meantime], statt dessen [instead of that], and trotz dessen [despite that] – written as one or two words. There is a special form of wegen:  
Wir gehen seinetwegen zu Fuß. We’re going on foot on account of him (for his sake).
Ich mache es ihretwegen. I’m doing it on account of her (for her sake).
Kaufen Sie das nicht meinetwegen. Don’t buy that for my sake.
Meinetwegen könnt ihr es verkaufen. As far as I’m concerned (for all I care), you can sell it.
Verbs that take the genitive: Quite a few verbs once took a genitive object, but over time they have switched to the accusative. One example is vergessen, although the name of the flower Vergissmeinnicht (forget-me-not) remains. Some verbs officially still take the genitive, although many native speakers will use the accusative instead. It is with such formal – some would say stilted – German that you might encounter genitive pronouns:  
Die Angst bemächtigte sich seiner. Fear seized him.
Wir bedürfen Ihrer Hilfe. We require your assistance.
Man muss unter 16 sein, um sich eines VCRs zu bedienen. You have to be under 16 to operate a VCR.
Ich erfreue mich seiner Anwesenheit. I enjoy his presence.
Wir harren ihrer Ankunft. We patiently await her arrival.
Other genitive constructions: Some predicate adjectives are also associated with the genitive:  
Er ist seiner Beliebtheit sehr gewiss. He’s very certain of his popularity.
Ich bin mir dessen bewusst. I’m aware of that.
Ach ich bin des Treibens müde! [aus Goethes “Wandrers Nachtlied”] Oh, I’m weary of this restless activity
Sie ist des Mordes schuldig. She is guilty of murder.
Er ist ihrer nicht wert. He’s not worthy of her.
Certain noun phrases in the genitive act like prepositional phrases:  
Er fährt immer erster Klasse. He always travels first class.
Sie ist meine Cousine ersten Grades. She’s my first cousin.
Wir sind heute guter Laune. We’re in a good mood today
Sie geht guten Mutes nach Hause. She goes home in good spirits.
Er arbeitet festen Glaubens dafür. He works for that with a firm faith.
Meines Erachtens ist das nicht nötig. In my opinion that’s not necessary.
Meines Wissens ist nichts übrig geblieben. As far as I know, nothing was left over.
Sie behauptet das allen Ernstes. She claims that in all seriousness
Du bist heute guter Dinge. You’re in a cheerful mood today.
Wir sind unverrichteter Dinge zurückgekehrt. We returned having accomplished nothing.
Junk disposal of all kinds bulky refuse / plastic, synthetics and scrap metal /clearing out of cellars, attics, and apartments / demolition work / moving service, mini-transport / free inspection / short notice possible Painting jobs. Fast, clean, and reasonably priced.
 
1 The “ein-words” are ein, kein, and the possessive pronouns: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr, ihr. The so-called “der-words” are the articles der, die, das; dies-, jed-, jen-, manch-, solch-, welch-. Increasingly, Germans are putting apostrophes onto all names, especially in commercial enterprises. This option is unavailable to non-native speakers.
Fränky’s Flowers.
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Plural in German

German language courses

Plural in German

For English speakers, the plural in German is exasperating. We are happy to just add a simple “–s”. In German it’s much more complicated. Get into fighting mode; we think you’ll need to. Here’s our explanation:

Summary of the most common plurals

Because this subject is pretty complicated, we’ve made a small table with the most common suffixes for making the plural depending on the gender: Some nouns do not have a plural form in German:
  • Names of countries, rivers, cities:
    Example Meaning
    die Türkei Turkey
    die Wolga the Volga
    München Munich
  • Abstract concepts:
    Example Meaning
    die Zweisprachigkeit bilingualism
    die Abgespanntheit exhaustion
    die Zuvorkommenheit courtesy
    die Wut rage

General rules that are applicable to all genders

Constructing the plural with “-s”

Just like in English it’s normal to construct the plural with the ending “–s”. In German, however, only a few adopted foreign words have this plural.
Noun Plural Meaning
die Kamara die Kamaras camera
der Gorilla die Gorillas gorilla
das Auto die Autos car

The plural for feminine nouns

The construction of the plural for feminine nouns is the easiest in German: The possibilities are: The large majority of feminine nouns that do not end in “-e” make their plural with “-en”:Adding “-en”
Noun Plural Meaning
die Datei die Dateien file
die Wohnung die Wohnungen apartment
die Fabrik die Fabriken factory
The following endings which guarantee that the noun is feminine should be emphasized: “-ei”, “-ung”, “-heit”, “-keit”, “-ion”, “-schaft”, “-ik”, “-eur”, “-enz”, “-tät”, “-itis”, “-sis”.lamp

Adding “-n”

If a feminine noun ends in “-e”, its plural is always constructed with “-n” (Note: Not all nouns ending with “-e” are feminine. For example: der Käse)
Noun Plural Meaning
die Lampe die Lampen lamp
die Fantasie die Fantasien fantasy
die Narzisse die Narzissen narcissus
The following endings guarantee that the noun is feminine and their plural is with “-n” : -ie , -ade, -age, -ere, -ine, -isse, -ive, -se,

Adding “-nen”

The feminine nouns that end in “-in” make their plural with “-nen”.
Noun Plural Meaning
die Chefin die Chefinnen boss

Adding [Umlaut] + “-e”

A few feminine nouns add [Umlaut] + “-e”.
Noun Plural Meaning
die Kraft die Kräfte force
die Angst die Ängste fear

Plural: “-a” “-en”

Some words not from German origin ending in “-a” make their plural with “-en”
Noun Plural Meaning
die Firma die Firmen company
die Skala die Skalen scale

Plural: “-sis” “-sen”

Nouns ending in “-sis” construct their plural with “-sen”
Noun Plural Meaning
die Analysis die Analysen analysis
Galaxia

Plural: “-xis” “-xien”

The plural for nouns ending with “-xis” are constructed with “-xien”
Noun Plural Meaning
die Galaxis die Galaxien galaxy

Plural: “-itis” “-iden”

The feminine nouns ending with “-itis” construct their plural with -den
Noun Plural Meaning
die Cellulitis die Cellulitiden cellulitis

Plural: “-nis” “-nisse”

Feminine nouns ending in “-nis” construct their plural by adding the ending “-se”
Noun Plural Meaning
die Befugnis die Befugnisse authorization

Plural: “-aus” “-äuse”

Feminine nouns ending with “-aus” add an Umlaut over the “a” and add the ending “e”. Mouse
Noun Plural Meaning
die Maus die Mäuse mouse

Adding [Umlaut]

There are two feminine nouns that construct their plural with Umlaut: “Mutter” and “Tochter”.
Noun Plural Meaning
die Mutter die Mütter mother
die Tochter die Töchter daughter

Adding [Umlaut] + “-en”

A plural form that is not very common is the [Umlaut] + “–en” that practically is used only with the word “Werkstatt”
Noun Plural Meaning
die Werkstatt die Werkstätten workshop

Plural for masculine nouns

Many masculine nouns form their plural with “-e”.
The endings that guarantee the use of this plural are:
“-ich”, “-ig”, “-ling”, “-är” (only those coming from French)
and “-eur”.Adding “-e”
Alfombra
Noun Plural Meaning
der Teppich die Teppiche carpet
der König die Könige king
der Schmetterling die Schmetterlinge butterfly
der Veterinär die Veterinäre veterinarian
der Friseur die Friseure barber

Adding [Umlaut] + “-e”

Some nouns form the plural with [Umlaut] + “-e”. We emphasize the following:
Noun Plural Meaning
der Platz die Plätze seat
der Kuss die Küsse kiss
der Hals die Hälse neck
der Arzt die Ärzte doctor
der Fluss die Flüsse river

Not adding any ending

Many masculine nouns ending with “-er” and “-el” do not add any ending.
Noun Plural Meaning
der Schüler die Schüler student
der Würfel die Würfel dice
Estudiante

Adding [Umlaut]

Many masculine nouns ending with “-er” and “-el” add just an Umlaut.
Noun Plural Meaning
der Vater die Väter father
der Mantel die Mäntel overcoat

Adding “-n” [according to the N-Deklination]

Many masculine nouns ending with “-e” are declined according the “N-Deklination”.
Singular Plural
Nominative der Kunde die Kunden
Accusative den Kunden die Kunden
Dative dem Kunden den Kunden
Genitive des Kunden der Kunden
Examples of nouns that follow the “N-Deklination”:
Noun Plural Meaning
der Name die Namen name
der Buchstabe die Buchstaben letter
There are many exceptions that do not follow the “N-Deklination” such as:
Noun Plural Meaning
der Käse die Käse cheese
der See die Seen lake
Advice: If you have to take a German test, learn the gender and plural of “der Käse” as it’s one of professors’ favorite words.

Adding “-en” [according to the N-Deklination]

Words with a Greek or Latin ending in “-at”, “-ant”, “-ent” and “–ist” are declined according to the “N-Deklination”.
Singular Plural
Nominative der Pianist die Pianisten
Accusative den Pianisten die Pianisten
Dative dem Pianisten den Pianisten
Genitive des Pianisten der Pianisten
Examples of nouns that follow the “N-Deklination”:
Noun Plural Meaning
der Student die Studenten student
der Soldat die Soldaten soldier
der Liferant die Liferanten supplier
der Violinist die Violinisten violinist

Adding “-en” [no “N-Deklination”]

Although it is not very common, there are also nouns that construct the plural with “-en” without “N-Deklination”.
Noun Plural Meaning
der Staat die Staaten state
der Doktor die Doktoren doctor

Adding “-er”

Very few masculine nouns construct the plural with “-er”. It is a plural construction that is much more common with neuter nouns.
Noun Plural Meaning
der Leib die Leiber body

Adding [Umlaut] + “-er”

A few masculine nouns’ plural form is made with [Umlaut] + “-er”.
Noun Plural Meaning
der Mann die Männer man
der Gott die Götter God

Adding “-ten”

One the rarest masculine nouns is constructed with the suffix “-ten”
Noun Plural Meaning
der Anbau die Anbauten annex

Plural: “-us” -> “-usse”

Most of the masculine nouns ending with “-us” add “-se”, meaning that an extra –s is added.
Noun Plural Meaning
der Zirkus die Zirkusse circus
der Bus die Busse bus

Plural: “-us” -> “-i”

There are a few masculine nouns that come from Latin and end with “us”, forming the plural with “i”
Noun Plural Meaning
der Modus die Modi mode
der Ficus die Fici ficus

The plural for neuter nouns

Adding “-e”

The most common plural form for neuter nouns is constructed with the ending “-e”
Noun Plural Meaning
das Alphabet die Alphabete alphabet
das Protokoll die Protokolle record

No ending added

Almost all of the neuter nouns ending with “-er” or “-el” or “-en”.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Leder die Leder leather
das Kabel die Kabel cable
das Abkommen die Abkommen agreement

Adding “-er”

Many neuter nouns construct the plural with “-er”.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Bild die Bilder picture
das Lied die Lieder song

Adding [Umlaut] + “-er”

The plural [Umlaut] + “-er” is very common with neuter nouns.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Fahrrad die Fahrräder bicycle
das Blatt die Blätter leaf
das Haus die Häuser home

Adding “-en”

A few neuter nouns add “-en” to construct the plural.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Bett die Betten bed
das Verb die Verben verb

Adding “-ien”

The plural formed with the suffix “-ien” is not very common.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Adverb die Adverbien the adverb
das Prinzip die Prinzipien the principle

Plural “-nis” “-nisse”

For nouns ending with “-nis”, a suffix, “-se”, is added (another –s is added).
Noun Plural Meaning
das Ergebnis die Ergebnisse result
das Geheimnis die Geheimnisse secret

Plural “-um” “-a”

A few nouns originating from Latin ending with “-um” construct their plural with “-a”.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Antibiotikum die Antibiotika antibiotic
das Analgetikum die Analgetika analgesic

Plural “-um” “-en”

Most nouns originating from Latin ending with “-um” construct their plural with “-en”.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Aquarium die Aquarien aquarium
das Ministerium die Ministerien ministry

Plural “-o” “-en”

Another rare plural form is that of the neuter nouns ending in “-o”.
Noun Plural Meaning
das Bankkonto die Bankkonten bank account
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Relative Clauses in German

Spoken German

Relative Clauses in German

The formation of “Relativsätze” explained in English, Relative pronouns “deren” and “dessen”. Relative clauses are for adding information about a noun.

Du bist der Mann, den ich liebe You are the man that I love

You should have the following in mind about relative clauses in German: – the conjugated verb is placed at the end of the relative clause. – sometimes a comma is placed in front of the relative pronoun.

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are shown in this table:
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der die das die
Accusative den die das die
Dative dem der dem denen
Genitive dessen deren dessen deren
This table is not very hard to learn because it is very similar to the one with the definite articles. The only thing that is different is the genitive and the dative plural. Surely you are asking yourself, why so many? And, how do I know which one to choose? We’ll explain that next.

Relative Pronoun Gender

The relative pronoun gender is defined by the gender of the noun that it complements. An example:

Die Frau, die das Auto hat, ist reich The woman that has the car is rich

As you see in the previous example, “Frau” is a feminine noun so the relative pronoun that follows it has to be feminine as well (die).

Types of Relative Clauses

Relative clauses can be nominative, accusative, dative or genitive. Let’s look at them all in detail because this is very important:

Nominative

The relative pronoun acts as a subject and the conjugated verb is placed at the end of the relative clause. Remember: the verb has to be conjugated in association with the relative pronoun (make sure if it is singular or plural).

Das Kind, das dort spielt, wohnt in der Schweiz The child that is playing there lives in Switzerland

Die Kinder, die dort spielen, wohnen in der Schweiz The children that are playing there live in Switzerland

Accusative

When the relative pronoun is accusative, the pronoun is placed in the first position and therefore the subject is moved to the second position and, as always, the conjugated verb goes to the end of the relative clause:

Der Roman, den ich lesen will, ist “El Quijote” The novel that I want to read is “El Quijote”

Das Buch, das ich lesen will, ist “El Quijote” The book that I want to read is “El Quijote”

Dative

The dative and accusative work the same with the exception of the relative pronoun. This time, however, we’ve provided you with an example that is a bit more difficult. Notice that the relative pronoun might be accompanied by a preposition as well:

Der Kunde, mit dem ich gerade gesprochen habe, ist Deutscher The client that I just spoke to is German (most likely a male customer but not definitively)

Die Kundin, mit der ich gerade gesprochen habe, ist Deutsche The (female) client that I just spoke to is German

Genitive

The relative pronouns “deren” and “dessen” are translated as “whose”, its or their:

Die Nachbarin, deren Kind in meiner Klasse war, ist krank The neighbor whose child was in my class is sick

Der Nachbar, dessen Kind in meiner Klasse war, ist krank The neighbor whose child was in my class is sick

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German Gender:Neutral

Learn German

Gender of Neuter Nouns in German

The most important nouns endings that mark the neuter gender are: -chen, -lein, -ett , -ium ,-ment , -tum , -eau Keep in mind that there are exceptions.

Gender of nouns ending with “-chen” (diminutives)

– How often this ending is seen: Often – All diminutives ending with “-chen” are neuter. – No ending is added to make the plural (das Mädchen ➜ die Mädchen) Examples:
Example Meaning
das Mädchen girl
das Pfännchen small frying pan
das Maskottchen mascot
das Märchen fairytale
das Päckchen small package
Nouns that are not diminutive do not necessarily have to be neuter: der Drachen (dragon), der Kuchen(cake), der Knochen (bone), der Rochen (ray [zoo.]), der Rachen (throat)

Gender of nouns ending with “-lein”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – No ending is added to make the plural (das Häuslein ➜ die Häuslein) -All diminutives ending with “-lein” are neuter little bird Examples:
Example Meaning
das Häuslein ittle house
das Vöglein little bird
das Bächlein brooklet
das Büchlein booklet

Gender of nouns ending with “-ett”

– How often this ending is seen: Often – The plural can be formed with “-en” (das Bett ➜ die Betten) or with “-er” (das Brett ➜ die Bretter”) or with “-e” (das Amulett ➜ die Amulette) bed Examples:
Example Meaning
das Bett bed
das Ballett the ballet
das Büfett the buffet
das Omelett the omelet
das Brett the board
das Bankett the banquet

Gender of nouns ending with “-ium”

– Many come from Latin – How often this ending is seen: Often – The plural is formed with the structure: “-ium “-ien” (das Ministerium die Ministerien) observatory Examples:
Example Meaning
das Observatorium the observatory
das Ministerium the ministry
das Laboratorium the laboratory
das Bakterium the bacteria
das Aquarium the aquarium
das Aluminium the aluminum
das Silicium the silicon

Gender of nouns ending with “-ment”

– How often this ending is seen: average – The plural is formed with “-e” for words that are from German “-e” (das Medikament die Medikamente) but with “-s” for foreign words (das Apartment die Apartments)medication Examples:
Example Meaning
das Medikament the medication
das Testament the will
das Element the element
das Instrument the instrument
das Fragment the fragment
Exceptions: der Moment (the moment), der Konsument (the consumer)

Gender of nouns ending with “-tum”

– Words coming from Latin – The u’s pronunciation is short – How often this ending is seen: Average – The plural is almost always made with the structure: “-tum “-ten” (das Datum die Daten)growth Examples:
Example Meaning
das Datum date
das Wachstum growth
das Ultimatum ultimatum
das Heiligtum relic [plural: die Heiligtümer]
das Votum vote
Exceptions (For German words, the u’s pronunciation is long): der Irrtum (the error), der Reichtum (the wealth)

Gender of nouns ending with “-eau”

– Words coming from French – How often this ending is seen: Seldom – The plural is formed with “-s” (das Niveau ➜ die Niveaus) Examples:
  • das Niveau (level)
  • das Plateau (plateau)
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German Gender:Feminine

Learn to speak German

German Feminine Noun Gender

There are three genders in German: Masculine, feminine and neuter. Usually, the gender of a noun is determined by its ending. The endings for the most important feminine nouns are:
Frequency Ending
Very common -ei -ung -in
-heit -keit -ion
Common -ie -schaft -elle
-ik -ur -ade
Rare -age, -ette -enz
-ere -ine -isse
-tät -itis -ive
-se -sis
Keep in mind that there are exceptions. Unfortunately, there are many other feminine nouns that have different endings than these and whose gender is not easy to identify.

Gender of nouns ending with “-ei”

German police – How often this ending is seen: Very often – Plural with “-en” Examples:
Example Meaning
die Polizei police
die Abtei abbey
die Konditorei confectionery
die Leckerei delicacy
die Datei file
Exceptions:
Exception Meaning
der Brei mash
der Schrei scream
der Papagei parrot
das Ei egg
das Einerlei monotony
das Blei lead

Gender of nouns ending with “-ung”

newspaper – How often this ending is seen: Very often – Plural with “-en” Examples:
Example Meaning
die Zeitung newspaper
die Dichtung poetry
die Empfehlung recommendation
die Erfahrung experience
Exceptions:
Exception Meaning
der Schwung momentum
der Sprung jump

Gender of nouns ending with “-in”

– How often this ending is seen: Very often – Plural with “-nenfemale professor NOTE: Nouns ending with “-in” only are feminine if they refer to a woman. Examples:
Example Meaning
die Lehrerin female professor
die Darstellerin actress
die Eignerin female owner
die Australierin Australian woman
die Chefin female boss
Exceptions: All diminutives ending with “-lein” are neuter: das Madlein (the maiden)

Gender of nouns ending with -heit

– How often this ending is seen: Very often – Plural with “-enfreedom Examples:
Example Meaning
die Freiheit freedom
die Neuheit novelty
die Sicherheit safety
die Trägheit laziness

Gender of nouns ending with “-keit”

dangerousness – How often this ending is seen: Very often – Plural with “-en” Examples:
Example Meaning
die Gefährlichkeit dangerousness
die Höflichkeit politeness
die Langsamkeit slowness
die Häufigkeit frequency

Gender of nouns ending with “-ion”

production – How often this ending is seen: Very often – Plural with “-en” Examples:
Example Meaning
die Produktion production
die Funktion function
die Kanalisation drainage
die Nation nation

Gender of nouns ending with “-ie”

– How often this ending is seen: Very often – Plural with “-n” – Many come from Latin or Greek geography Examples:
Example Meaning
die Geografie geography
die Garantie guarantee
die Fantasie fantasy
die Galerie gallery
die Astronomie astronomy
Exceptions: der Zombie (zombie), der Yuppie (yuppie), der Unfreie (slave), der Laie (layman)

Gender of nouns ending with -schaft

– How often this ending is seen: Media – Plural with “-enfriendship Examples:
Example Meaning
die Freundschaft friendship
die Gemeinschaft community
die Wirtschaft economy
die Wissenschaft science

Words ending with “-elle”

– How often this ending is seen: Media – Plural with “-n” – From Italian or French wave Examples:
Example Meaning
die Welle wave
die Zelle cell
die Zitadelle citadel
die Quelle source
die Tabelle table
Exceptions: der Junggeselle (single), der Geselle (journeyman)

Gender of nouns ending with “-ik”

– How often this ending is seen: Media – Plural with “-en” – Many are from Greek or Latin factory Examples:
Example Meaning
die Fabrik factory
die Musik music
die Technik technique
die Statistik statistics
die Politik politics
Exceptions: der Atlantik (Atlantic), der Streik (strike)

Gender of nouns ending with “-ur”

– How often this ending is seen: Media – Plural with “-en” – Many of them are from Latin Examples:
Example Meaning
die Kultur culture
die Natur nature
die Diktatur dictatorship
die Agentur agency
Exceptions:
  • Professions: der Chauffeur (driver), der Ingenieur (engineer), der Regisseur (director), etc.
  • References to male people: der Amateur (amateur), der Voyeur (voyeur), etc.
  • In addition: das Futur (future), das Abitur (exam at end of high school)

Gender of nouns ending with “-ade”

– How often this ending is seen: seldom – Plural with “-nmarmalade Examples:
Example Meaning
die Marmelade marmalade
die Limonade lemonade
die Schokolade chocolate
die Schublade drawer

Gender of nouns ending with “-age”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-nHermitage Examples:
Example Meaning
die Eremitage hermitage
die Etage floor
die Frage question
die Bandage bandage

Gender of nouns ending with “-ette”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-n” – Many are from French disk Examples:
Example Meaning
die Diskette disk
die Etikette label
die Zigarette cigarette
die Marionette marionette
die Kassette cassette

Gender of nouns ending with “-enz”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-en” – Many come from Latin or Greek conference Examples:
Example Meaning
die Konferenz conference
die Frequenz frequency
die Transparenz transparency
die Turbulenz turbulence
die Tendenz tendency

Gender of nouns ending with “-ere”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-n” – Many of them are from Italian or French. scissors Examples:
Example Meaning
die Schere scissors
die Portiere curtain
die Niere kidney
die Misere misery
Exceptions: der Karabiniere (carbineer), der Gondoliere (gondolier), das Ampere (ampere)

Nouns ending with “-ine”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-n” – Many come from Latin or Greek violin Examples:
Example Meaning
die Violine violin
die Vakzine vaccination
die Maschine machine
die Ruine ruin
die Leine rope
Exceptions: der Beduine (bedouin)

Nouns ending with “-isse”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-n” – Many of them are from Latin or Greek narcissus Examples: – How often this ending is seen: Seldom
Example Meaning
die Narzisse narcissus
die Prämisse premise
die Kulisse frame
die Abzisse abscissa

Gender of nouns ending with “-tät”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-en” – Many come from Latin or Greek university Examples:
Example Meaning
die Universität university
die Pubertät puberty
die Naivität naivety
die Parität parity
die Priorität priority

Gender of nouns ending with “-itis”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural “-itis -iden ” – They come from Greek and are diseases (-itis means inflammation) bronchitis Examples:
Example Meaning
die Bronchitis bronchitis
die Cellulitis cellulitis
die Rachitis rickets
die Hepatitis hepatitis

Nouns ending with -ive

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-nlocomotive Examples:
Example Meaning
die Lokomotive locomotive
die Olive olive
die Perspektive perspective
die Alternative alternative

Gender of nouns ending with “-se”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-nrose Examples:
Example Meaning
die Rose rose
die Zuckerdose sugar bowl
die Osmose osmosis
die Badehose swimming trunks

Gender of nouns ending with “-sis”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural “-sis -sen ” Examples:
Example Meaning
die Basis basis
die Dosis dose
die Genesis genesis
Exception: das Chassis (chassis)]]>

German Gender:Masculine

German-Spoken German

Endings that mark the masculine gender

Usually, the noun gender is determined by the noun’s ending. The endings that mark the masculine gender in order of most importance are: -ich, -ist, -or, -ig, -ling, -ismus, -ant, -är, -eur, -iker and -ps

Words ending with “-ich”

– How often this ending is seen: Average – Plural with “-ecarpet Examples:
Example Meaning
der Teppich carpet
der Sittich parakeet
der Abgleich adjustment
der Bereich range
der Teich pond
Exception: das Reich (kingdom)

Words ending with “-ist”

– How often this ending is seen: Average – Plural with “-en” – Many come from Latin or Greek artista Examples:
Example Meaning
der Artist artist
der Egoist egoist
der Feminist feminist
der Herzspezialist cardiologist
der Komponist composer

Words ending with “-or”

– How often this ending is seen: Average – Plural: The majority end with “-en” and some with “-e” – Many come from Latin Examples:fan
Example Meaning
der Ventilator fan
der Motor motor
der Faktor factor
der Marmor marble
Exceptions: das Fluor (Fluorine), das Chlor (chlorine), das Tor (gate), das Labor (laboratory), das Dekor(decoration)

Words ending with “-ig”

– How often this ending is seen: Less often – Plural with “-eking Examples:
Example Meaning
der König king
der Honig honey
der Essig vinegar
der Käfig cage
Exception: das Reisig (brushwood)

Words ending with “-ling”

– How often this ending is seen: Less often – Plural with “-e” butterfly Examples:
Example Meaning
der Schmetterling butterfly
der Frühling spring
der Lehrling apprentice
der Zwilling twin
Exceptions: das Bowling, die Reling (railing)

Words ending with “-ismus”

– How often this ending is seen: Less often – The plural follows this construction even though many nouns lack a plural form: “-ismus” ➜ “-ismen” – Many come from Latin or Greek optimism Examples:
Example Meaning
der Optimismus optimism
der Magnetismus magnetism
der Expressionismus expressionism
der Feudalismus feudalism
der Kapitalismus capitalism

Words ending with “-ant”

– How often this ending is seen: Less often -Plural with “-en” – Most words ending with “-ant”, especially if they come from Latin Examples: diamond
Example Meaning
der Diamant diamond
der Fabrikant manufacturer
der Elefant elephant
der Lieferant supplier
Exceptions: das Restaurant, die Want (shroud)

Words ending with “-är”

– How often this ending is seen: Not often – Most words ending with “-är” are masculine, especially if they are from French – The plural can be formed with “-e” (for words from French such as der Veterinär ➜ die Veterinäre) or with “-en” (der Bär die Bären) bear Examples:
Example Meaning
der Bär bear
der Veterinär veterinarian
der Aktionär stockholder
der Sekretär secretary
Exceptions: das Militär (military), das Quartär (quartenary)

Words ending with “-eur”

– How often this ending is seen: Not often – Plural with “-e” [der Friseur die Friseure] – Many of them come from French Examples: hairdresser
Example Meaning
der Friseur hairdresser
der Amateur amateur
der Ingenieur engineer

Words ending with “-iker”

– How often this ending is seen: Not often – No ending is added to form the plural [der Physiker die Physiker] – They come from Latin or Greek Examples: politician
Example Meaning
der Alkoholiker alcoholic
der Informatiker computer scientist
der Physiker physicist
der Politiker politician

Words ending with “-ps”

– How often this ending is seen: Seldom – Plural with “-e” (der Schlips ➜ die Schlipse) but sometimes an “Umlaut” is added to the last vowel of the world to make the plural (der Schnaps die Schnäpse) Examples:
Example Meaning
der Schlips tie
der Gips cast
der Schnaps schnaps
der Klaps slap
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German declension

German Language

German declension

Nominative

The nominative is used if
    • The word is isolated:

Name* name

*(“Name” is nominative)
    • If the word makes up part of the subject:

Mein Name hat 5 Buchstaben* My name has five letters

*(“Mein Name” has the function of a subject and is declined in the nominative)
    • If the word forms part of the object of the predicate and the sentence is formed with the copulative verb (sein, werden or bleiben)*

María ist mein Name* Maria is my name

*(“Ist” is part the verb “sein” (copulative) and therefore the object is declined in nominative)

Accusative

Accusative is used if:
    • If the word is a direct object in English, it will be accusative in 90% of the cases in German.

Ich sagte meinen Namen* I said my name

*(“sagte” is from the verb “sagen”, which is a verb that is not copulative. For that reason, it is accusative) Depending on the verb, the objects can be accusative, dative or with a preposition. Fortunately, most cases coincide with English ones all of the time. Be careful!
    • If it follows a preposition that is accusative (bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um, wider) or comes after aWechselpräposition that indicates movement.

Ich gehe in die Schule* I am going to school

*(“die Schule” is declined in accusative because it follows the preposition “in” and going which indicates movement)

Dative

    • If the word is part of an Indirect Object in English, it will be dative in German in some 90% of the cases.

Ich schenke dir ein Heft* I give you a notebook

*(“ein Heft” (the thing that is given) is accusative and whom it is given to is dative)  
  • If it follows a preposition that is dative: “ab”, “aus”, “außer”, “bei”, “entgegen”, “entsprechend”, “mit”, “nach”, “seit”, von, zu or a Wechselpräposition if it does not indicate movement.

Genitive

    • If the word is after the word “of” in English

Die Zukunft des Buches ist schwer* The future of the book is difficult

*(In English genitive’s expressed with “of” or by adding an apostrophe to show possession. “Des Buches” is translated as “of the book” or “the book’s”)
  • If it follows a preposition that is Genitive (anstatt, aufgrund, außerhalb, dank, statt, während, wegen)
The genitive is not used as often by Germans as the three other previous cases. Often, a noun object is made with the preposition “von” + Dative and the genitive preposition are sometimes used incorrectly as if they were dative. You have to keep in mind that one word can fit the rules of different cases simultaneously. For example, it can be a subject while being a part of a noun object and follow a preposition that is dative. Which case would it be then? Nominative because it’s the subject, Genitive, because it’s the noun object or dative because it is after a preposition? The answer is that the priorities are in this order:
  1. Following a preposition (governing with Accusative, Dative or Genitive)
  2. Being part of a genitive object (Genitive)
  3. The rest of the rules

Complete Declension Tables

The “hard” case endings are highlighted in yellow in these tables, and the “soft” adjective endings are underlined.
 TYPE 1: Definite Articles “The nice man / woman / child / children”
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
NOM der nette Mann die nette Frau das nette Kind die netten Kinder
ACC den netten Mann die nette Frau das nette Kind die netten Kinder
DAT dem netten Mann der nettenFrau dem netten Kind den nettenKindern
GEN des netten Mannes der nettenFrau des nettenKindes der netten Kinder
 TYPE 2: Indefinite & Possessive Articles “My little dog / cat / bunny / birds”
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
NOM mein kleiner Hund meine kleine Katze mein kleines Kaninchen meine kleinen Vögel
ACC meinen kleinen Hund meine kleine Katze mein kleines Kaninchen meine kleinen Vögel
DAT meinem kleinen Hund meiner kleinen Katze meinem kleinen Kaninchen meinen kleinen Vögeln
GEN meines kleinen Hundes meiner kleinen Katze meines kleinen Kaninchens meiner kleinen Vögel
 TYPE 3: No Article “hot coffee / cold milk / fresh bread / warm rolls”
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
NOM heißer Kaffee kalte Milch frisches Brot warme Brötchen
ACC heißen Kaffee kalte Milch frisches Brot warme Brötchen
DAT heißem Kaffee kalter Milch frischem Brot warmen Brötchen
GEN heißen Kaffees kalter Milch frischen Brotes warmer Brötchen

Noun Declension

There are 2 types of noun declension: Regular and N-declension.

Regular declension

Applicable to most nouns. Example: das Gas (the gas)
Singular Plural
Article Noun Article Noun
Nominative das Gas die Gase
Accusative das Gas die Gase
Dative dem Gas den Gasen
Genitive des Gases der Gase
N-declension Applicable to some masculine nouns and a few neuter ones. Example: der Name (the name)
Singular Plural
Article Noun Article Noun
Nominative der Name die Namen
Accusative den Namen die Namen
Dative dem Namen den Namen
Genitive des Namens der Namen

Weak Nouns (the “N-Declension”)

Just to make things more complicated, certain masculine nouns are “weak” and take an “n” ending in all cases except the nominative. For example, most of the words for “boy” in German (Junge, Bursche, Knabe, Bube) fall into this group:
SINGULAR PLURAL
Nominative der Junge die Jungen
Accusative den Jungen die Jungen
Dative dem Jungen den Jungen
Genitive des Jungen der Jungen
There are at least a few hundred weak nouns and it’s impractical to memorize them all, but once you know some of the most common ones, you can start to recognize them. They fall into two basic groups. The first, which you just saw, end in e and usually refer to people or animals:
der Kunde (customer) der Neffe (nephew) der Russe (Russian) der Schwede (Swede) der Soziologe (sociologist) der Löwe (lion) der Rabe (raven) der Schimpanse (chimpanzee)
These aren’t hard to remember, because there are very few masculine nouns in German that end in a single e and are not weak. Der Käse (cheese) is the only common one we can think of. The only wrinkle with this group is that a few of them keep the genitive s after the n. These are often the ones that don’t refer to a person or animal, like der Wille (will, volition) or der Friede(peace). So the genitive of those would be des Willens and des Friedens respectively. And the only non-masculine weak noun also works this way: das Herz (heart) –> des Herzens. The second group is a little fuzzier, but it’s basically nouns with certain Latin and Greek endings. Most of them are so close to their English equivalents that we don’t even have to translate:
der Elefant der Emigrant der Präsident der Kapitalist der Kommunist der Diplomat der Astronaut der Kandidat der Kamerad(comrade)
Finally, there are a few weak nouns that don’t fit into either group. The most common are:
der Bauer (farmer) der Bär (bear) der Held (hero) der Mensch (person) der Nachbar (neighbor) der Pilot der Idiot der Architekt
You can find long lists of weak nouns, but you shouldn’t try to memorize them all. If you remember the basic types above, you’ll get most of them right, and if you don’t, it’s not a real barrier to comprehension anyway.

Declension of Adjectives

There are three types of declension for adjectives: Weak, mixed and strong.

Weak declension of Adjectives

The most common case for weak declension is the construction: (definite article) + (adjective with weak declension) + (Noun)

Das schöne Sofa The beautiful sofa

Mixed declension of Adjectives

The most common mixed declension is the structure: (indefinite article) + (adjective with mixed declension) + (Noun)

Ein schönes Sofa A beautiful sofa

Strong declension of adjectives

The most common case of strong declension is: (strong declension of adjective without article) + (Noun)

Schönes Sofa Beautiful sofa

Adjective Functions

Adjectives can have 3 functions in a sentence and only the attributive function is declined. Let’s see the three functions to distinguish them from one another:
  • Attributive (adjective accompanying a noun).

    Der gute Mann arbeitet viel

    [DECLINED]Often, it is understood which noun is being referred to so the adjective appears without the noun but it is still declined

    Er mag den roten Apfel, ich mag den gelben

    (apple is omitted in the second clause)
  • Predicative (the adjective is in a sentence with the copulative verbs [ seinbleiben and  werden] and is not accompanied by a noun)

    Der Mann ist gut[NOT DECLINED]

  • Adverbial (the adjective behaves like an adverb)

    Sie singt gut[NOT DECLINED]

Adjective declension

As we have stated, there are 3 types of declension, depending on the the particle that comes before the adjective:
  • Weak declension (the definite article + adjective).

    Das schöne Sofa The beautiful sofa

  • Mixed declension(indefinite article + adjective).

    Ein schönes Sofa A beautiful sofa

  • Strong declination (no article + adjective).

    Schönes Sofa Beautiful sofa

Weak declension

The weak declension is used when:
  • the definite articles (der, die, das)
or the pronouns:
  • dieser (this)
  • jener (that)
  • derjenige (that one)
  • derselbe (the same)
  • welcher (which)
or declined indicators of quantity:
  • jeder (every)
  • mancher (some)
  • alle (all)

come before the adjective and the adjective before the noun.

This is called weak declension because the case marker is not carried by the adjective but rather particle before it.
Weak declension Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der gute Mann die gute Frau das gute Kind die guten Männer/Frauen/Kinder
Accusative den guten Mann die gute Frau das gute Kind die guten Männer/Frauen/Kinder
Dative dem guten Mann(e) der guten Frau dem guten Kind(e) den guten Männern/Frauen/Kindern
Genitive des guten Mannes der guten Frau des guten Kindes der guten Männer/Frauen/Kinder
If we look closely, we see that you just add “-e” or “-en”.

Mixed declension

Mixed declension is used when:
  • the indefinite articles (ein,…)
  • the possessive pronouns (mein, …)
  • kein, … (none)
come before the adjective and the adjective before the noun.
Mixed declension Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative ein guter Mann eine gute Frau ein gutes Kind keine guten Männer/Frauen/Kinder
Accusative einen guten Mann eine gute Frau ein gutes Kind keine guten Männer/Frauen/Kinder
Dative einem guten Mann(e) einer guten Frau einem guten Kind(e) keinen guten Männern/Frauen/Kindern
Genitive eines guten Mannes einer guten Frau eines guten Kindes keiner guten Männer/Frauen/Kinder

Declension Tables

Now that we’ve covered gender, plurals and case, here’s how they all fit together:
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
Nominative (subject) der Mann die Frau das Kind die Kinder
Accusative (direct object) den Mann die Frau das Kind die Kinder
Dative (indirect object) dem Mann der Frau dem Kind den Kindern
Genitive (possession) des Mannes der Frau des Kindes der Kinder
Again, notice that the noun itself rarely changes – it only picks up an ending in three places. Most of the changes take place in the article. The highlighted letters are the signal or “hard” endings; in addition to der/die/das, they apply as above to the following definite articles:
  • dieser / diese / dieses (“this/that, these/those”)
  • solcher / solche / solches (“such”)
  • welcher / welche / welches (“which”)
And here are two more, but they sound poetic or fancy in modern German and are not used as often:
  • jener / jene / jedes (“that, those”)
  • mancher / manche / manches (“many a”)
You may be wondering how “that” and “those” can be rare words in any language. The short answer is that you can use “dies-“ for both this/these and that/those, as we’ve indicated above. The full answer is a little more complicated. Our this/that distinction in English – what linguists call the proximal/distal distinction – is not handled the same way in all languages, and German just doesn’t have it to the same degree. Even “dies-” is less common than “this” in English; it’s most often used when distinguishing among a group of similar items, not just in referring to anything nearby. For example, if you’re helping someone pick out a dress, you’d say Ich mag dieses Kleid (“I like this one [as opposed to the others]”) but “this beer [in my hand] is too warm” would often just be das Bier ist zu warm. It’s actually a bit more complicated than that, but it’s way too much to get into here. If you’re really struggling to get across a this/that distinction in German, remember that you can always use extra words to help (“this building here,” “the guy over there,” etc.) The other two categories are the indefinite articles (like a/an in English) and possessives (my, your, his, etc). These words have the same hard endings as the definite articles above, except that they drop them in three places. Here’s how to say: “my dog/cat/bunny/birds”:
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
Nominative (subject) mein Hund meine Katze meinKaninchen meine Vögel
Accusative (direct object) meinen Hund meine Katze meinKaninchen meine Vögel
Dative (indirect object) meinem Hund meiner Katze meinemKaninchen meinenVögeln
Genitive (possession) meinesHundes meiner Katze meinesKaninchens meiner Vögel
We will fully review the possessives in Section 6 (Pronouns), but here are the two indefinite articles:
  • ein / eine / ein (“a/an ___”)
  • kein / keine / kein (“no/not a ___“)
Ein Hund folgte mir nach Hause. A dog followed me home. Ich spreche kein Deutsch. I speak no German. Das ist keine Lösung. That’s not a solution.
In learning these declensions, as well as the adjective forms in the next section, it’s better to focus on those 16 hard endings and the few exceptions to them than to memorize every table by rote.

Strong declension

The strong declension is used when nothing comes before the adjective. But there are also other cases such as when the adjective is preceded by any of the following pronouns:
  • dergleichen, … (the same)
  • derlei, … (such)
  • dessen, deren (whose)
  • wessen (whose)
  • manch (some)
  • etliche mehrere (a few more)
  • etwas (something)
  • ein bisschen (a bit)
  • ein wenig (a little)
  • ein paar (a couple)
or by:
  • wie viel (how much)
  • viel (a lot)
  • wenig (little)
or declined indicators of quantity that are only used in the plural:
  • viele (many)
  • wenige (few)
  • einige (some)
Strong declension Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative guter Mann gute Frau gutes Kind gute Männer/Frauen/Kinder
Accusative guten Mann gute Frau gutes Kind gute Männer/Frauen/Kinder
Dative gutem Mann(e) guter Frau gutem Kind(e) guten Männern/ Frauen/Kindern
Genitive guten Mannes guter Frau guten Kindes guter Männer/ Frauen/Kinder

Declension of 2 or more consecutive adjectives

If two or more consecutive adjectives are in a sentence, they will be declined with the same type of declension:

Wir möchten in einem guten japanischen Restaurant essen We would like to eat in a good Japanese Restaurant

In this example, “gut” and “japanisch” are declined with the mixed declension because the adjectives are preceded by the indefinite article (ein). “ein” is declined in dative (einem) because it is preceded by the preposition “in” (with a situational concept).

Pronoun declension

There are 3 types of declensions for pronouns: weak, mixed and strong but not all pronouns have the three declensions. If you’d like more in-depth info, we suggest that you visit: Declension of personal pronouns:
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
ich I mich me mir me, to me meiner mine
du you dich you dir you, to you deiner yours
er he ihn him ihm him, to him seiner his
sie she sie her ihr her, to her ihrer hers
es it es it ihm it, to it seiner its
wir we uns us uns us, to us unser ours
ihr you (speaking to a group) euch you euch you, to you euer yours
sie Sie they you (formal) sie Sie them you (formal) ihnen Ihnen to them to you ihrer Ihrer theirs yours

Article declension

Definite Articles:
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der (the) die (the) das (the) die (the)
Accusative den die das die
Dative dem der dem den
Genitive des der des der
Indefinite Articles:
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative ein (a/an) eine (a/an) ein (a/an)
Accusative einen eine ein
Dative einem einer einem
Genitive eines einer eines

Declension of cardinal numbers

The cardinal numbers are not declined with the exception of 1, 2 and 3.

Declension of 1 (eins)

  • If the 1 is not followed by a noun, it is not declined and eins is always used:

Formel eins Formula one

  • If the “1” is followed by a noun, usually the weak declension is used, being equivalent to the indefinite article:

Ich habe eine Lampe I have a lamp

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative ein eine ein
Accusative einen eine ein
Dative einem einer einem
Genitive eines einer eines

Declension of 2 and 3

  • If the 2 or 3 are not followed by a noun, they are not declined and simply zwei and drei are used:
  • If the 2 or 3 are followed by a noun, they are declined only in the genitive in the case of them not being preceded by an article:

Abstand zweier Punkte Distance of two points

Plural
Nominative Accusative Dative zwei / drei
Genitive zweier / dreier

Declension of ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers follow the adjective declension rules. An example of weak declension (given that the article “der” comes before the ordinal number in the genitive):

Die Kosten der zweiten Wohnung The expenses of the second home

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