GERMAN GRAMMAR

 

Alýnan Kaynak: http://www.germanfortravellers.com 

1. Gender

2. Plural

3. Articles

4. Nominative

5. Accusative

6. Dative

7. Definite articles and der-words

8. Indefinite articles and ein-words

9. All Cases

10. Present Tense of 'sein'

11. Present Tense

12. Present Perfect

13. Modal Verbs

14. Adjective Endings

15. How to negate with "nicht"

16. Word Order

17. woher wohin

 

Tables:

1. Accusative and Dative Prepositions

2. The preposition "to"

3. Verbs with stem-vowel changes

4. Verb-Preposition Combinations


1. Gender

Here are some guidelines to determine the gender of nouns:

Masculine: days, months, seasons, mountains (but: die Alpen), lakes, precipitations, all N-nouns, nouns ending in -ich, -ig, -ling,-or, -el,-en -er ('Elener')

Feminine: flowers, trees, nouns ending in -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tät, -ung, -in (persons only), -ei, -ine,-ik, -ion (foreign words like die Nation), -en/n/-nen.

Neuter: towns and countries (exceptions: die Schweiz, die USA, etc.), names of hotels, cafés and theatres, nouns ending in -chen, -lein, -nis, -tum, -um, -ment.

 

2. Plural Forms

German uses five endings to mark the plural of nouns:

- (no change)

- e

- er

- (e)n

- s

Some nouns of the first three types add an umlaut in the plural. There is a gender distinction for German nouns in the singular (der, die, das) but there is no gender distinction in the plural. All plural nouns (in the nominative and accusative) take the definite article "die". The indefinite article "ein" has no plural form but other "ein"-words like "kein" do (keine). Possessive adjectives (like "mein, dein," etc.) are also ein-words and form the plural accordingly ("meine, deine," etc.).

When learning a new noun, always memorize the plural form as well. There is no sure way to predict the plural form but these rules will help you to make an educated guess.

Examples:

Type 1 (no change): das Zimmer (die Zimmer), das Mädchen (die Mädchen)
Type 1 (with umlaut): der Vater (die Väter), der Garten (die Gärten), der Bruder (die Brüder), die Mutter (die Mütter)

Type 2 (-e): der Abend, der Monat, das Geräusch, das Telefon
Type 2 (with umlaut): der Fuß (die Füße), der Stuhl, der Sohn, die Wand, die Hand

Type 3 (-er): das Kind (die Kinder)
Type 3 (with umlaut): der Mann (die Männer), das Wort, das Buch, das Haus

Type 4 (-en/n/nen)
-en: der Professor (die Professoren), die Tür, die Uhr, das Bett.

-n: a) nouns which end on a vowel (mainly on -e) in the singular: die Adresse, die Straße, die Woche but a number of b) nouns ending on consonants (mostly -r) in the singular: die Nummer (die Nummern)

-n: N- nouns are a group of masculine nouns that take -n or -en in all cases but the nominative singular e.g.: der Student -en, (den Studenten, dem Studenten, die Studenten), der Mensch-en, -en, der Junge-n,-n, der Nachbar-n,-n

-nen: nouns derived from masculine forms. Their singular forms end in -in: die Studentin (die Studentinnen), die Amerikanerin, die Professorin. These nouns are always feminine.

Type 5 (-s): foreign words like: das Auto, das Radio

 

3. Articles

In English a male person is masculine in grammatical gender, and we refer to the person as he; a female person is feminine in gender and we refer to the person as she. All things are neuter and we refer to each thing as it. However, some people sometimes personify things such as cars, ships etc., and refer to them as she. Thus: she (the car) is really fast. She (the ship) is an oceanliner.

 In German the matter of grammatical gender is quite different. Gender does not depend entirely on sex. The noun for a male is generally (though not always) masculine and takes the definite article der, the noun for a female is generally (though not always) feminine and takes the definite article die. Things are not always neuter. Some are masculine, some are feminine, and some are neuter and take the definite article das.

 

DEFINITE ARTICLES

MASCULINE

NEUTER

FEMININE

PLURAL

der

das

die

die

 

INDEFINITE ARTICLES

MASCULINE

NEUTER

FEMININE

PLURAL

ein

ein

eine

keine

 

4. Nominative

The subject of a sentence (who/what does the action) is in the nominative. She works a lot.

To find out what the subject of a sentence is, you ask 'Who (or What)?'

In this case, you would ask: 'Who (or What)' works a lot?        The answer is: She.


What is the subject (= the nominative case) in these sentences?

My brother eats a Schnitzel.          'Who or what' eats a Schnitzel? My brother.

My sister likes to play.                   'Who or what' likes to play? My sister.

This computer is very expensive.    'Who or what' is very expensive? This computer.

 

Und jetzt auf Deutsch!

Die Frau geht nach Deutschland.     'Wer oder was' geht nach Deutschland? Die Frau.

Das Kind spielt.                             'Wer oder was' spielt? Das Kind.

Der Computer ist sehr teuer.          'Wer oder was' ist sehr teuer? Der Computer.

 

5. Accusativ

Are these sentences complete?
 
Claudia has
She loves
She buys
 
No, they are missing a direct object.

Sind diese Sätze komplett?
 
Claudia hat
Sie liebt
Sie kauft
 
Nein, hier fehlt das direkte Objekt. 

Claudia has a cat.
She loves the cat.
She buys a bird.

Claudia hat eine Katze.
Sie liebt die Katze.
Sie kauft einen Vogel.

 

In English as in German, there are different cases. The direct object in English is not visible in nouns while in German it is visible in masculine nouns

Subject and object in English

Is the woman here?

Is she here?

Can you see the woman?

Can you see her?

 

 

Is the man here?

Is he here?

Can you see the man?

Can you see him?

The difference of subject (nominative) and direct object (accusative) in English is visible only in personal pronouns (i.e. her / him), in German it is visible in personal pronouns as well as in masculine nouns.

 

Masculine

Neuter

Feminine

Plural

Nominative

ein/der Hund

ein/das Tier

eine/die Katze

viele Tiere

Accusative

einen/den Hund

ein/das Tier

eine/die Katze

die Tiere

Articles for feminine nouns, neuter nouns and for plural forms are exactly the same in the nominative and in the accusative case. 

 

Only the article for masculine nouns changes in the accusative case.

Subject

I

you

he

she

it

we

you

they

WHO?

Object

me

you

him

her

it

us

you

them

WHOM?

 

6. Dative

The dative case is the case of the indirect object and answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom?", i.e. to whom or for whom the action described in this sentence is being done.

In English, you oftentimes use the prepositions 'to' or 'for' to indicate such an indirect object. You do not always use these prepositions, though.

I'm giving my brother a new bike. OR: I'm giving a new bike to my brother.

Both sentences mean the same.

In German you don't have a choice - the indirect object is always expressed by the dative case, never with 'to' or 'for'.

Ich gebe meinem Partner Blumen.
I'm giving my partner flowers. OR: I'm giving flowers to my partner.

Mein Partner gibt mir auch Blumen.
My partner is also giving me flowers. OR: My partner is also giving flowers to me

7. Definite articles and der-words

Definite articles

Like English, German uses definite and indefinite articles. If you are talking about a specific person, animal, place, event, thing, or idea, you use a definite article, i.e. the. The German definite article must agree (=match) with the gender of the noun it precedes, its number [i.e. singular (=one) or plural (=many)], and its case [i.e. nominative or accusative]. As you can see, the definite article in the plural is always "die".

 

Masculine

Neuter

Feminine

Plural

Nominative

der

das

die

die

Accusative

den

das

die

die

Beispiel: Die Frau kauft den Computer.

der-words:

Dieser (=this one), jeder (=every one), welcher (=which one) take (almost) the same endings as the definite articles and are therefore called der-words.

 

Masculine

Neuter

Feminine

Plural

Nominative

dieser
jeder
welcher

dieses
jedes
welches

diese
jede
welche

diese
jede
welche

Accusative

diesen
jeden
welchen

dieses
jedes
welches

diese
jede
welche

diese
jede
welche

Beispiel: Diese Frau kauft diesen Computer.

 

8. Indefinite articles and ein-words

Indefinite articles

Like English, German uses definite and indefinite articles. If you are talking about an unspecified person, animal, place, event, thing, or idea, you use an indefinite article, i.e. a or an. The German equivalent to a or an is ein. Unlike English, though, ein takes an ending which agrees with the gender of the noun it precedes, its number [i.e. singular (=one) or plural (=many)], and its case [i.e. nominative or accusative]. As you can see from this table, in three cases ein does not take an ending.

Obviously, a/an and ein are only used in the singular. The negative form of ein is kein (=not a, not (any), no). Kein can be used in the plural and always takes an -e, i.e. keine.

 

Masculine

Neuter

Feminine

Plural

Nominative

ein

ein

eine

keine/meine

Accusative

einen

ein

eine

keine/meine

Zum Beispiel: Eine Frau kauft einen Computer.

 

ein-words

Ein and kein are so-called ein-words. Adjectives indicating possessions or relationships are also ein-words and behave exactly like the indefinite articles ein and kein and take the same endings.

For example, mein (=my):

 

Masculine

Neuter

Feminine

Plural

Nominative

(k)ein
mein...

(k) ein
mein...

(k) eine
meine...

keine
meine...

Accusative

(k) einen
meinen...

(k) ein
mein...

(k) eine
meine...

keine
meine...


The same applies for all other possessive adjectives, like dein (=your), sein (=his / its), ihr (=her), unser (=our), euer (=your, plural), ihr (=their), Ihr (=your, formal, singular and plural).

Although only some of the possessive adjectives rhyme with "ein" (i.e. mein, dein, sein), all possessive adjectives are ein-words and therefore take an ein-word ending.

Keep in mind that the possessive adjective sein can mean "his" and "its" and that ihr can mean "her" and "their".

  

9. All Cases

NOMINATIVE, ACCUSATIVE, DATIVE, GENITIVE


Definite articles:

 

Masculine

Neuter

Feminine

Plural

Nominative

der

das

die

die

Accusative

den

das

die

die

Dative

dem

dem

der

den +-n

Genitive

des

des

der

der

Die Frau kauft den Computer.
Die Frau kauft dem Kind den Computer.

 

der-words:

 

Masculine

Neuter

Feminine

Plural

Nominative

dieser
jeder
welcher

dieses
jedes
welches

diese
jede
welche

diese
jede
welche

Accusative

diesen
jeden
welchen

dieses
jedes
welches

diese
jede
welche

diese
jede
welche

Dative

diesem
jedem
welchem

diesem
jedem
welchem

dieser
jeder
welcher

diesen
jeden
welchen +-n

Genitive

dieses
jedes
welches

dieses
jedes
welches

dieser
jeder
welcher

dieser
jeder
welcher

Diese Frau kauft diesen Computer.
Diese Frau kauft diesem Kind diesen Computer.

 

 

10. Present Tense of „sein

ich bin

I am

wir sind

we are

du bist

you are

ihr seid

you are

er/es/sie ist

he/it/she is

sie sind

they are

Sie sind - you are (formal address)

 

The correct form of "sein".

Die Studentin / sie

  aus Kanada.

Der Student / er

  aus den USA.

Meine Freunde / sie

  aus der Schweiz.

Thomas und Irene / sie

  aus Österreich.

Amanda und ich / wir

  aus Mexiko.

Herr und Frau Müller / sie

  aus Deutschland.

Das Kind / es

  aus China.

 

11. Present Tense

In English, the infinitive (the basic form of the verb) is signalled by "to"; i.e. to learn, to play, to do.

In German, the infinitive consists of the verb stem plus en or, less often, n; i.e. lernen, spielen, tun.

In English, verbs only have an ending in the third person singular; i.e. he/it/she learns, plays, does.

Singular:

Plural:

I learn

we learn

you learn

you learn

he/it/she learns

they learn


In German, all forms of the present tense have an ending. The verb stem is not changed, but the infinitive ending en or n is changed to:

Singular:

Plural:

ich lerne

wir lernen

du lernst

ihr lernt

er/es/sie lernt

sie lernen

Sie lernen

 

 Note than in the 1st and 3rd person plural the ending is identical to the infinitive ending; i.e. wir lernen, sie lernen. Therefore verbs with an n as their infinite ending also also end in n in the 1st and 3rd personal plural and in the Sie-form; i.e. wir tun, sie tun, Sie tun.

If the stem ends in d (like "finden") or t (like "arbeiten"), or in combinations like gn (like "regnen"), an e is inserted before the personal endings st and t.

 

Singular:

Plural:

ich finde

wir finden

du findest

ihr findet

er/es/sie findet

sie finden

Sie finden

 

Singular:

Plural:

ich arbeite

wir arbeiten

du arbeitest

ihr arbeitet

er/es/sie arbeitet

sie arbeiten

Sie arbeiten

 

If the stem ends in s, z, or ß, the personal ending in the 2nd person singular is t and not st:

Singular:

Plural:

ich heiße

wir heißen

du heißt

ihr heißt

er/es/sie heißt

sie heißen

Sie heißen

 

12. Present Perfect

The present perfect is also called "colloquial past". It is used for conversations but not for formal narration.

In English, the present perfect is always formed with the auxiliary verb 'to have' and a past participle, i.e. I have played.

In German, this is also the case for a number of verbs which form the present perfect with 'haben' and the past participle, i.e.

Ich habe gespielt.
Du
hast getanzt.
Sie
hat gekauft.

Wir haben gespielt.
Ihr
habt gespielt.
Sie
haben gespielt.

Sie haben gespielt.

 

Regular or weak verbs form the past participle this way:

ge- stem -t

i.e.: gespielt; getanzt, gemacht; gekauft, etc.

Verbs ending in -ieren only add -t to form the past participle: i.e. diskutieren -> diskutiert; studieren --> studiert

Ich habe Deutsch studiert.
Wir haben lang diskutiert.


Strong or irregular verbs form the past participle this way:

ge - stem -en

i.e. gefahren; gekommen; etc.

Because "en" is the infinitive ending, you only have to add "ge" to the infinitive of the verb.

  3. Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are a small group of verbs which modify the meaning of the verb. They express ability (können), necessity (müssen), permission (dürfen), liking / fondness (mögen), desire (wollen), obligation (sollen). Modal Verbs in the Present Tense

 

können

 

 

müssen

 

 

wollen

ich

kann

 

ich

muss