A REFERENCE, NOT A RULEBOOK TO MEMORIZE
See how it fits together.
Look up a pattern, then put it into practice.
The form table
| Case | M | F | N | PL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom | ||||
| acc | ||||
| dat | ||||
| gen |
Select a cell to explore the connection.
Gender is part of the word
Learn der Tisch, die Tür, das Fenster as complete units. Meaning alone rarely predicts gender. Grammatical gender and a person’s natural gender are not always the same.
das Mädchen → grammatical neuter; personal reference can use sie.
the girl → grammatically neuter; she can be used for personal reference.
Four cases, four jobs
Nominative commonly marks the subject; accusative commonly marks the direct object; dative commonly marks a recipient; genitive often expresses possession. Verbs and prepositions can determine case too.
Der Mann sieht den Hund. Ich helfe dem Mann.
The man sees the dog. I help the man.
The definite article family
Article forms follow gender, number, and case. Feminine and neuter accusative look like nominative; masculine changes from der to den.
der Tisch → den Tisch → dem Tisch → des Tisches
the table → the table (accusative) → the table (dative) → of the table
Ein and its relatives
ein has no ending in masculine nominative or neuter nominative/accusative. kein and possessives follow the same singular endings. ein has no plural; kein and possessives do.
ein Hund · einen Hund · einem Hund · keine Hunde
a dog · a dog (accusative) · a dog (dative) · no dogs
Possessive determiners
mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, and formal Ihr agree with the noun that follows, not with the person who owns it. Euer normally loses its second e before an ending.
mein Tisch · meine Tasche · eure Bücher · Ihrem Kind
my table · my bag · your books (informal plural) · your child (formal, dative)
Personal pronouns
Keep the noun’s case when replacing it. Masculine er becomes ihn in accusative and ihm in dative. Neuter es also becomes ihm in dative. Plural dative is ihnen.
Ich sehe den Mann. → Ich sehe ihn.
I see the man. → I see him.
Accusative prepositions
durch, für, gegen, ohne, and um govern the accusative. The preposition determines case, even when the sentence has no direct object.
für den Mann · ohne das Buch · durch die Stadt
for the man · without the book · through the city
Dative prepositions
aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, and gegenüber govern the dative. Some verbs, including helfen and danken, also require dative objects.
mit dem Bus · bei der Frau · seit einem Jahr
by bus · at the woman’s place · for one year
Location versus destination
an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, and zwischen are two-way prepositions. A location uses dative; a change into or onto a destination uses accusative. Movement within a location can still take dative.
Ich gehe in die Küche. / Ich gehe in der Küche auf und ab.
I go into the kitchen. / I walk up and down in the kitchen.
Compound nouns
For ordinary noun compounds, the final noun determines gender. Look at the head, not the first part. The head also usually controls the plural pattern.
das Haus → das Krankenhaus · die Tür → die Haustür
the house → the hospital · the door → the front door
Feminine suffixes
Nouns formed with the suffixes -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, and -tät are feminine. A word merely ending in similar letters is not necessarily formed with that suffix.
die Wohnung · die Gesundheit · die Möglichkeit
the apartment · health · the possibility
Neuter diminutives
The diminutive suffixes -chen and -lein make nouns neuter, regardless of the base noun’s gender. Other endings such as -ment and -um are useful tendencies, not universal rules.
das Mädchen · das Brötchen · but der Moment
the girl · the bread roll · but the moment
Masculine tendencies
Nouns with the suffix -ling are usually masculine. Many nouns naming male people are masculine. Still learn every noun with its article; these clues do not replace the noun’s actual gender.
der Lehrling · der Vater · der Student
the apprentice · the father · the student
Weak masculine nouns
Many masculine nouns referring to people add -(e)n in accusative, dative, and genitive singular. Herr has Herrn in the singular and Herren in the plural. Name is a mixed exception with genitive Namens.
der Student → den Studenten → dem Studenten → des Studenten
the student → the student (accusative) → the student (dative) → of the student
Plural dative
Use den in dative plural. The noun usually adds -n unless its plural already ends in -n or -s. Mass nouns often have no ordinary count plural.
die Kinder → den Kindern · die Autos → den Autos
the children → the children (dative) · the cars → the cars (dative)
Adjective endings
After a definite article, adjectives use weak endings. After an ein-word they use mixed endings. Without a determiner they use strong endings. The ending depends on gender, number, and case.
der große Tisch · ein großer Tisch · einen großen Tisch · mit großem Interesse
the big table · a big table · a big table (accusative) · with great interest
Relative pronouns
The antecedent determines gender and number. The relative clause determines case. Forms mostly match definite articles, except plural dative denen and genitive dessen/deren.
Der Mann, den ich sehe, ist hier. / Die Frau, deren Buch ich lese, ist hier.
The man whom I see is here. / The woman whose book I am reading is here.
Further reading: Lingolia: noun cases · adjective declension. CEFR tags in the noun collection are editorial practice bands, not an official exam list.