Key points about describing nouns with adjectives
An adjective is a describing word. It describes a noun. can be used to add more detail to A noun also be described as naming word. It is the name of a person, place or object., eg size, colour, an opinion.
If an adjective is placed before a noun eg. a black cat, the adjective must agree with An article is a word before a noun which shows if it is something specific ‘the’ or general ‘a/an’. , In German all nouns can be masculine, feminine or neuter. , The case shows how nouns function in a sentence and relate to other words. They indicate who is doing an action, who owns something, and who is affected by an action. , and This can refer to whether a noun is singular or plural. of the noun.
This means the spelling of the adjective will change.
Check your understanding
Using adjectives in the nominative case
The The nominative case refers the subject of a sentence. The noun performing the action. is used when the noun is the subject of the sentence. This means the noun is doing the action, indicated by the A verb is a doing word in the sentence.
- Das Mädchen spielt Fußball .
- The girl plays football.
Remember:
To find the subject of the sentence, ask who is doing the action? In this example, who is playing football?
The answer is das Mädchen , so it is the subject and takes the nominative case.
If an adjective is placed before a noun an ending must be added to the adjective. The adjective must agree with the:
The case shows how nouns function in a sentence and relate to other words. They indicate who is doing an action, who owns something, and who is affected by an action.
In German all nouns can be masculine, feminine or neuter.
This can refer to whether a noun is singular or plural. and whether the article is The definite article is 'the'. The definite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. or The indefinite article means ‘a’ or ‘an’. The indefinite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. .
The nominative adjective endings for the The definite article is 'the'. The definite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. articles are:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
The articles dieser/diese/dieses (this), jener/jene/jenes (that), jeder/jede/jedes (every) and welcher/welche/welches (which) also follow this pattern.
The nominative adjective endings for the The indefinite article means ‘a’ or ‘an’. The indefinite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. articles are:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
Possessive adjectives mein (my), dein (your), sein (his), ihr (her), unser (our), euer (your), Ihr (your), ihr (their) and the negative kein also follow this pattern.
Mini quiz
Choose the correct adjective:
- Meine Schwester ist eine tolles / tolle / toller Tänzerin.
tolle
- Die jungen / junger / junges Kinder spielen im Park.
jungen
Using adjectives in the accusative case
The The accusative case refers to the direct object in a sentence. The noun receiving the action. is used when the noun is the direct object of the sentence. This means the noun is receiving the action in the sentence.
For example:
- Der alte Mann isst einen Apfel.
- The elderly man eats an apple.
Remember:
To find the direct object of the sentence, ask what is receiving the action.
Prepositions also determine which case is needed.
The adjective must agree with the The case shows how nouns function in a sentence and relate to other words. They indicate who is doing an action, who owns something, and who is affected by an action. , In German all nouns can be masculine, feminine or neuter. , This can refer to whether a noun is singular or plural. and whether the article is The definite article is 'the'. The definite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. or The indefinite article means ‘a’ or ‘an’. The indefinite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. .
The accusative adjective endings for the The definite article is 'the'. The definite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. articles are:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
The articles diesen/diese/dieses this, jenen/jene/jenes that, jeden/jede/jedes every and welchen/welche/welches which also follow this pattern
The accusative adjective endings for the The indefinite article means ‘a’ or ‘an’. The indefinite article changes depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural. articles are:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
Possessive adjectives mein my, dein your, sein his, ihr her, unser our, euer your, Ihr your, ihr their and the negative kein also follow this pattern.
Remember: It is only the masculine articles which change in the accusative case.
Mini quiz
Choose the correct adjective:
- Ich habe einen braunen / braune / braunes Hund.
braunen
- Ich trage ein weißes/weißen Hemd, eine grüne/grünen Krawatte und eine schwarzes/schwarze Hose.
weißes, grüne, schwarze
Translate the following phrases into German:
- The new cinema in the town centre is really expensive.
Das neue Kino in der Stadtmitte ist sehr teuer.
- In my town there is a beautiful cathedral.
In meiner Stadt gibt es einen schönen Dom.
Using adjectives in the dative case
The The dative case refers to the indirect object in a sentence. The noun benefiting from the direct object. is used when the noun is the indirect object of the sentence. This means the noun is the recipient of the direct object.
For example:
- Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch.
- I give the man a book/I give a book to the man.
Remember:
To find the direct object of the sentence, ask for whom?.
Prepositions also determine which case is needed.
Add an ending to the adjective if the adjective is placed before the noun.
The adjective must agree with the case, the gender, the number and whether the article is definite or indefinite.
The dative adjective endings for the definite articles are:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
The articles diesem/dieser/diesemthis, jenem/jener/jenemthat, jedem/jeder/jedemevery and welchem/welcher/welchemwhich also follow this pattern
The dative adjective endings for the indefinite articles are:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
Possessive adjectives meinmy, deinyour, seinhis, ihrher,unserour, eueryour, Ihryour, ihrtheir and the negative kein also follow this pattern.
Remember: To add -n to the plural noun in the dative case.
Mini quiz
Choose the correct adjective:
- Der Lehrer gibt der neues / neuem / neuen Schülerin ein Heft.
neuen
- Ich verstehe mich gut mit meinem kleinen / kleiner / klein Bruder.
kleinen
Using adjectives with no article
If there is no article before a noun, the adjectival endings are as following:
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | English | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nomative | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| Accusative | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| Dative | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
Examples:
Ich trinke gern heißen Kaffee mit kalter Milch.
- I like drinking hot coffee with cold milk.
Bei schlechtem Wetter können wir nach draußen gehen.
- In bad weather we can’t go outside.
Gute Freunde müssen nicht die gleichen Interessen haben.
- Good friends don’t have to have the same interests.
Quiz
More on Adjectives and adverbs
Find out more by working through a topic
- count3 of 5
- count4 of 5
- count5 of 5
- count1 of 5
