German articles are used similarly to the English articles, a and the. However, they are declined differently according to the number, gender and case of their nouns.[1]
Declension
editThe inflected forms depend on the number, the case and the gender of the corresponding noun. German articles – like adjectives and pronouns – have the same plural forms for all three genders.[2]
Indefinite article
editThis article, ein-, is used equivalently to the word a in English. Like its English equivalent (though unlike Spanish), it has no direct form for a plural; in this situation a range of alternatives such as einige (some; several) or manche (some) would be used.[1]
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein | - |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein | - |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem | - |
| Genitive | eines | einer | eines | - |
The same endings are used for the negative indefinite article-like word (kein-), and the adjectival possessive pronouns (alias: possessive adjectives, possessive determiners), mein- (my), dein- (your (singular)), sein- (his), ihr- (her and their), unser- (our), euer/eur- (your (plural)), Ihr- (your if addressing an authority figure, always capitalised).[1]
Definite article
editThis table gives endings for the definite article, equivalent to English the.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitive | des | der | des | der |
The so-called "der words" (Der-Wort) take similar endings. Examples are demonstrative pronouns (dies-, jen-) (this, that), the relative pronoun (welch-) (which), jed- (every), manch- (many), solch- (such).[3]
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| Accusative | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| Dative | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| Genitive | -es | -er | -es | -er |
- This is essentially the same as the indefinite article table, but with the masculine nominative -er, and the neuter nominative and accusative -es.
For further details as to the usage of German cases, see German grammar.
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Donaldson, Bruce (24 January 2007) [8 January 2006]. "Chapter 5: Articles and Other Determiners". German: An Essential Grammar. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9780203018583. ISBN 9781134225439. Retrieved 18 May 2025 – via Google Books.
- ↑ James Ham, Roscoe; Newton Leonard, Arthur (1908). Brief German Grammar. Ginn & Co. p. 17. Retrieved 18 May 2025 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Whittle, Ruth; Klapper, John; Glöckel, Katharina; Dodd, Bill; Eckhard-Black, Christine (March 2013) [1996]. Modern German Grammar: A Practical Guide. Taylor & Francis. 24. Determiners. ISBN 9781136835520. Retrieved 18 May 2025 – via Google Books.