German Grammar
German Articles
German has three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two types of articles: definite articles (der, die, das = the) and indefinite articles (ein, eine = a/an). Both change form depending on gender, number, and case.
Article types:
- • Definite: der Mann, die Frau, das Kind (the man, the woman, the child)
- • Indefinite: ein Mann, eine Frau, ein Kind (a man, a woman, a child)
Indefinite Articles (ein, eine)
The indefinite article corresponds to "a"/"an" in English and indicates unspecific or new information. There is no plural form of the indefinite article. For plural indefinite nouns, the article is simply dropped. You can memorize the indefinite articles by taking the base form ein and adding different endings
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein | no article |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein | no article |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem | no article |
| Genitive | eines | einer | eines | no article |
Examples:
- • Nominative: Ein Mann ist hier. (A man is here.)
- • Accusative: Ich sehe einen Mann. (I see a man.)
- • Dative: Ich gebe einem Mann das Buch. (I give a man the book.)
- • Genitive: Das Auto eines Mannes ist neu. (The car of the man is new.)
Definite Articles (der, die, das)
The definite article corresponds to "the" in English and indicates specific, known, or previously mentioned nouns. For dative and genitive, as well as masculine in accusative, the endings of the definite articles mirror the endings of the indefinite articles.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitive | des | der | des | der |
Examples in Context
- • Nominative: Der Mann ist nett. (The man is nice.)
- • Accusative: Ich sehe den Mann. (I see the man.)
- • Dative: Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. (I give the man the book.)
- • Genitive: Das Auto des Mannes ist neu. (The car of the man is new.)
Negative Article (kein, keine)
Kein means "no"/"not a"/"not any" and follows the same ending pattern as indefinite articles. It does have a plural form, which follows the ending pattern of definite articles.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | kein | keine | kein | keine |
| Accusative | keinen | keine | kein | keine |
| Dative | keinem | keiner | keinem | keinen |
| Genitive | keines | keiner | keines | keiner |
Examples with kein:
- • Ich habe kein Auto. (I have no car.)
- • Ich sehe keinen Mann. (I see no man.)
- • Wir haben keine Kinder. (We have no children.)
When to Use No Articles
You do not use any article in the following cases:
- • Plural indefinite: Ich sehe Männer. (I see men.)
- • Uncountable nouns: Ich trinke Wasser. (I drink water.)
- • Many proper names: Peter kommt. (Peter is coming.)
In southern Germany, proper names often take the definite article.
Possessive Articles
Articles showing possession follow the same declension pattern as kein. Here are the base forms of all possessive articles.
| Person | Article | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | my |
| du | dein | your (informal) |
| er | sein | his |
| sie | ihr | her |
| es | sein | its |
| wir | unser | our |
| ihr | euer | your (plural) |
| sie/Sie | ihr/Ihr | their/your (formal) |
Note: euer drops the -e- when it gets an ending: euere → eure, eurem, euren, etc.
Common Article Contractions
Articles often contract with prepositions in spoken and written German. Here are the most common article contractions.
| Preposition + Article | Contraction | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| an + dem | am | am Montag | on Monday |
| an + das | ans | ans Fenster | to the window |
| in + dem | im | im Haus | in the house |
| in + das | ins | ins Kino | to the cinema |
| von + dem | vom | vom Bahnhof | from the station |
| zu + dem | zum | zum Arzt | to the doctor |
| zu + der | zur | zur Schule | to school |