German declension
German declension is the system of grammatical inflections applied to nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and definite/indefinite articles in the German language to express their roles in a sentence through changes in form based on case, gender, and number.[1] This inflectional morphology distinguishes German as a highly inflected language within the Germanic family, where nouns are categorized into three genders—masculine, feminine, and neuter—each influencing the forms of accompanying articles and modifiers.[2] The system operates across four cases: nominative (for subjects), accusative (for direct objects), dative (for indirect objects or prepositional phrases), and genitive (for possession or certain prepositions), as well as two numbers: singular and plural.[1] Nouns in modern German exhibit relatively straightforward declension compared to other Indo-European languages, primarily involving plural formation through suffixes like -e, -en, -er, or -s (often with umlaut vowel changes), and limited case endings such as -s in the genitive singular for masculines or -n in the dative plural for many weak nouns.[2] Weak nouns, typically masculine and ending in -e or a consonant, add -(e)n across most cases except nominative singular, while strong nouns follow gender-specific patterns with more varied endings.[3] Definite articles (der, die, das) and indefinite articles (ein, eine, kein, etc.) fully decline to agree with the noun's gender, number, and case, providing key markers for sentence structure; for instance, the masculine nominative singular der shifts to den in accusative and dem in dative.[1] Adjectives, which must agree with their head nouns, feature a more intricate declension system divided into three paradigms: strong (used without articles or with indefinite articles lacking endings, featuring endings like -er, -en, -em), weak (following definite articles, mostly -e or -en), and mixed (with indefinite articles, blending strong and weak forms).[4] This agreement ensures clarity in word order-flexible German sentences, where case endings compensate for the language's tendency toward subject-verb-object structure but allows variations for emphasis.[1] Pronouns decline similarly but often irregularly, serving as substitutes while maintaining the same case-gender-number framework.[2] Overall, German declension reflects a balance between synthetic elements inherited from Proto-Germanic and analytic tendencies in contemporary usage, making it a cornerstone of the language's grammar.[5]Fundamentals
Cases
In German grammar, the four cases—nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive—mark the syntactic roles of nouns, pronouns, and related elements within a sentence, providing essential information about their relationship to verbs and other constituents.[6] The nominative case identifies the subject, the entity performing the action or being described, as in the sentence Der Hund bellt ("The dog barks"), where der Hund functions as the subject.[6] The accusative case denotes the direct object, the recipient of the action, such as den Hund in Ich sehe den Hund ("I see the dog").[6] The dative case signals the indirect object, often indicating the beneficiary or means, exemplified by dem Hund in Ich gebe dem Hund einen Knochen ("I give the dog a bone"), and it also governs certain prepositional phrases expressing location or manner.[6] The genitive case expresses possession or relational attributes, as seen in des Hundes in Das ist das Haus des Hundes ("This is the house of the dog"), and it appears with specific prepositions to denote origin or separation.[6] These cases trace their origins to Proto-Indo-European (PIE), the ancestral language spoken around 4500–2500 BCE, which featured eight cases to encode grammatical functions in a highly inflected system.[7] As Proto-Germanic emerged around 500 BCE, the system simplified to four cases—nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive—retaining core distinctions while merging others, a process driven by phonological changes and the rise of analytic structures like prepositions.[7] In modern German, further simplification has occurred, particularly in spoken language, where the genitive is increasingly avoided in favor of dative constructions with von (e.g., das Haus von dem Hund instead of das Haus des Hundes), reflecting a broader trend toward periphrastic expressions over synthetic morphology.[8] Case usage is illustrated in sentences like Der Hund beißt den Mann ("The dog bites the man"), where der Hund is nominative (subject) and den Mann is accusative (direct object), demonstrating how cases clarify roles despite flexible word order.[6] Similarly, Ich helfe dem Mann ("I help the man") shows the dative dem Mann as the indirect object required by the verb helfen.[9] Cases are primarily triggered by syntactic context: word order plays a supportive role, as German's Verb-Second rule in main clauses allows subject-verb-object flexibility without ambiguity due to case marking, unlike stricter orders in English.[10] Prepositions dictate cases rigidly, such as mit requiring dative for accompaniment (mit dem Mann, "with the man") or two-way prepositions like in taking accusative for motion (in die Stadt, "into the city") and dative for location (in der Stadt, "in the city").[11] Certain verbs also govern specific cases, like helfen mandating dative for the beneficiary.[9] These cases interact with grammatical gender and number to form complete declension patterns, as explored in subsequent sections.Grammatical genders
German nouns are classified into three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. This classification is a core feature of the language's inflectional system, where every singular noun is assigned one of these genders, influencing the forms of associated words. Masculine nouns are typically preceded by the definite article der, as in der Tisch ("the table"), and often include terms for male persons or certain professions. Feminine nouns take die, exemplified by die Lampe ("the lamp"), and frequently denote female persons or abstract concepts. Neuter nouns use das, such as das Buch ("the book"), and commonly refer to diminutives or young beings.[12][13] Grammatical gender in German does not always align with natural or biological gender, leading to frequent exceptions that learners must navigate. For instance, while nouns denoting biological males, like der Mann ("the man"), are masculine, and those for females, such as die Frau ("the woman"), are feminine, many inanimate objects and some animate referents defy this pattern. A notable exception is das Mädchen ("the girl"), which is neuter despite referring to a female, as diminutive forms ending in -chen or -lein are invariably neuter; this grammatical choice reflects diminutive morphology rather than biological sex. Such discrepancies highlight that grammatical gender is primarily a formal category, with natural gender correlations applying mainly to human and animal referents.[14][13] Gender assignment follows a combination of semantic, morphological, and lexical rules, though no single system covers all cases perfectly. Semantic rules assign gender based on meaning: masculine for male persons and animals (e.g., der Vater, "the father"), feminine for females (e.g., die Mutter, "the mother"), and neuter for infants or young animals (e.g., das Baby, "the baby"). Morphological rules rely on word endings, such as feminine for nouns terminating in -ung (e.g., die Bedeutung, "the meaning") or -heit (e.g., die Freiheit, "the freedom"), masculine for -er in agent nouns (e.g., der Lehrer, "the teacher"), and neuter for -chen diminutives. Lexical rules govern irregular or arbitrary assignments, requiring memorization for nouns without predictable patterns, like das Mädchen or regional variations such as der Joghurt versus das Joghurt. Approximately 46% of nouns are feminine, 34% masculine, and 20% neuter, underscoring the predominance of feminine forms among predictable classes.[13][12] The grammatical gender of a noun plays a pivotal role in agreement, dictating the inflectional endings of articles, adjectives, and pronouns that modify or refer to it. For example, a masculine noun like Tisch requires the article der and an adjective ending like -er in der große Tisch ("the big table"), while a feminine noun like Lampe uses die and -e in die große Lampe ("the big lamp"), and a neuter noun like Buch pairs with das and -es in das große Buch ("the big book"). Pronouns must also match the noun's gender, such as er for masculine, sie for feminine, and es for neuter. This agreement ensures syntactic coherence and is essential for forming the full declension paradigm, particularly when combined with case and number.[14][12]Number
In German grammar, number is a morphological category that distinguishes between the singular form, denoting one entity, and the plural form, denoting multiple entities, with no grammatical dual to indicate exactly two.[15] This binary system applies across nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles, where the singular typically reflects the inherent gender of the word, while the plural often overrides gender distinctions in agreement patterns.[16] Plural formation in German follows several general principles, primarily through the addition of suffixes such as -e, -er, -n, or -s, frequently accompanied by vowel umlaut (e.g., a to ä, o to ö, u to ü) to mark plurality, though some nouns undergo no change.[16] For instance, the neuter noun das Buch (book) becomes die Bücher in the plural, incorporating both umlaut and the -er ending, while patterns vary by gender and stem: many neuter nouns add -er with umlaut, and foreign loanwords often take -s.[16] These markers ensure plurality is morphologically distinct from the singular, though the exact form must often be memorized due to inconsistencies across word classes. Number interacts with cases and genders to shape full declension paradigms, such as adjusting endings on adjectives accompanying plural nouns.[16] A key rule of plural agreement is that all plural forms, regardless of the underlying gender, adopt endings reminiscent of the feminine singular in certain contexts, notably using die as the definite article in the nominative and accusative cases (e.g., die Bücher for both masculine and neuter origins). This unification simplifies agreement for determiners and adjectives in the plural, where they take a single set of endings across genders, such as -en in the dative.[17] Challenges in German plural formation include irregular patterns, such as the neuter noun das Auge (eye) becoming die Augen by adding -n (without umlaut), and zero plurals where no ending is added, as in der Löffel (spoon) to die Löffel for nouns ending in -el, -en, or -er.[16] These exceptions, often tied to historical sound changes or loanword adaptations, require rote learning and can complicate declension across word classes, particularly when combined with case requirements.[16]Articles
Definite articles
Definite articles in German, known as bestimmte Artikel, are the primary determiners used to specify known or previously mentioned nouns, indicating definiteness in the discourse. They agree in gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive) with the noun they precede, thereby signaling the noun's grammatical role within the sentence. The base forms are der (masculine), die (feminine), and das (neuter) in the nominative singular, with die serving all genders in the plural nominative and accusative. This system reflects German's fusional morphology, where a single form can mark multiple features, resulting in only six distinct article forms across 16 possible combinations of gender, number, and case.[18] The full declension paradigm for definite articles is as follows:| Case | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Neuter Singular | Plural (All Genders) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitive | des | der | des | der |
Indefinite articles
Indefinite articles in German, corresponding to "a" or "an" in English, are used to introduce non-specific or new information about a noun. They agree in gender, case, and number with the noun they modify, but only exist in the singular; there is no direct indefinite article equivalent for plurals. The base forms are ein for masculine and neuter nouns and eine for feminine nouns in the nominative and accusative cases.[20][21] The full declension paradigm for indefinite articles is as follows:| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein | (none) |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein | (none) |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem | (none) |
| Genitive | eines | einer | eines | (none) |
| 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 |
Nouns
Strong nouns
Strong nouns, also known as regular or default nouns in German declension, constitute the largest class of nouns and are characterized by variable case endings that distinguish grammatical roles without relying on consistent -n suffixes in the singular or non-dative plural forms.[22] These nouns primarily include masculine and neuter genders, with a smaller number of feminine nouns following this pattern; they typically add -s or -es in the genitive singular for masculine and neuter, no ending or -e in the dative singular for some masculine and neuter, and -e, -er, or -s in the nominative and accusative plural across genders.[22] Unlike weak nouns, strong nouns do not append -en in all non-nominative singular cases, allowing the endings to carry more case and number information.[22] The declension paradigms for strong nouns vary by gender, reflecting the core structure of German case system integration with articles. For masculine strong nouns, such as der Tag (the day), the singular forms are: nominative der Tag, genitive des Tags or des Tages, dative dem Tag, accusative den Tag; in the plural: nominative die Tage, genitive der Tage, dative den Tagen, accusative die Tage.[23] Neuter strong nouns, exemplified by das Haus (the house), follow: singular nominative das Haus, genitive des Hauses, dative dem Haus or dem Hause, accusative das Haus; plural nominative die Häuser, genitive der Häuser, dative den Häusern, accusative die Häuser.[24] Feminine strong nouns are less common but adhere to a simpler pattern without genitive -s, as in die Hand (the hand): singular nominative die Hand, genitive der Hand, dative der Hand, accusative die Hand; plural nominative die Hände, genitive der Hände, dative den Händen, accusative die Hände.[25] These paradigms integrate with preceding articles, which agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.[22] Umlaut (vowel mutation) plays a key role in strong noun declension, particularly in forming plurals and occasionally the genitive singular for masculine and neuter nouns, but it is not obligatory and depends on the noun's stem vowel (a, o, u, au, or eu often mutate to ä, ö, ü, äu, or äu).[22] For instance, in the plural of neuter das Haus, the stem vowel shifts to Häuser, and similarly for masculine der Baum (tree) becoming die Bäume, while feminine die Hand mutates to die Hände.[24] Genitive umlaut is rarer and mostly archaic, appearing in some masculine nouns like des Tages without mutation, but nouns like des Vaters (father's) may retain historical traces without consistent application today.[22] The rule applies selectively to avoid confusion, with dictionaries like Duden specifying per noun whether umlaut occurs in plural or genitive formations.[23] Common examples of strong nouns illustrate these patterns across genders: masculine der Hund (dog) declines as singular nominative der Hund, genitive des Hundes, dative dem Hund, accusative den Hund, plural die Hunde; neuter das Glas (glass) as singular nominative das Glas, genitive des Glases, dative dem Glas(e), accusative das Glas, plural die Gläser; feminine die Luft (air) as singular nominative die Luft, genitive der Luft, dative der Luft, accusative die Luft, plural die Lüfte.[26] Within the strong class, exceptions include nouns that optionally take weak-like -en in the dative singular (e.g., dem Manne alongside dem Mann), regional variations, or foreign loanwords that resist umlaut, such as der Kamera (camera) plural die Kameras without mutation.[22] Additionally, some strong nouns have irregular plurals like -er without umlaut (e.g., der Vater to die Väter) or no plural change (e.g., strong examples like das Schaf to die Schafe).[22] These deviations are noted in authoritative references to ensure accurate usage.[25]Weak nouns
Weak nouns, also known as n-stem nouns or the n-declension, constitute a distinct class in German grammar characterized by the addition of the ending -n or -en to the noun stem in all cases except the nominative singular.[3] This pattern simplifies declension by relying heavily on article endings to indicate case and number, resulting in minimal variation within the noun itself.[3] Unlike strong nouns, which exhibit more variable stem endings across cases, weak nouns maintain uniformity in their oblique forms. While true weak nouns with -n/-en in all oblique singular cases are predominantly masculine, many feminine and neuter nouns add -en only in the plural, resembling the weak pattern there.[27][3] This declension primarily applies to masculine nouns, with nearly all examples belonging to this gender, such as der Mensch (human being), der Junge (boy), and der Student (student).[3] A smaller number of feminine and neuter nouns also follow a similar pattern, particularly in the plural, including der Name (name) for masculine and das Auge (eye) for neuter.[3][28][29] The historical origins of weak nouns trace back to Proto-Germanic n-stem nouns, which derived from Proto-Indo-European n-stems and featured endings like -ō in the nominative singular and -enaz in the genitive singular.[5] In the evolution to modern German, these n-stems retained the characteristic -n ending in oblique cases, reflecting a conservative development within West Germanic languages.[5] The full paradigm for a typical masculine weak noun, such as der Mensch, illustrates this uniformity:| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der Mensch | die Menschen |
| Genitive | des Menschen | der Menschen |
| Dative | dem Menschen | den Menschen |
| Accusative | den Menschen | die Menschen |
Plural nouns
In German, plural nouns are formed by adding specific markers to the singular stem, which vary based on the noun's gender, ending, and origin, though no single rule applies universally. The most common plural marker is -e, often accompanied by an umlaut on the vowel (a → ä, o → ö, u → ü) for many masculine and neuter nouns, such as der Hund (the dog) becoming die Hunde (the dogs).[16] Another frequent marker is -er, typically with umlaut, used primarily for single-syllable neuter nouns like das Kind (the child) forming die Kinder (the children), an irregular case where the stem also changes.[14] Weak nouns, mostly masculine and feminine, add -n or -en without umlaut, as in der Name (the name) to die Namen (the names).[16] Some nouns take no marker in the plural, particularly those ending in -el, -en, or -er for masculines and neuters, like der Löffel (the spoon) remaining die Löffel (the spoons), though umlaut may occur in certain cases such as der Garten (the garden) to die Gärten (the gardens).[30] Foreign loanwords often adopt -s, especially those ending in unstressed vowels like das Auto (the car) to die Autos (the cars), or -en for Latin/Greek-derived terms like das Thema (the theme) to die Themen (the themes).[31] Irregular plurals exist, such as das Auge (the eye) to die Augen (the eyes), requiring memorization for exceptions outside standard patterns.[14] Plural nouns exhibit simplified case endings compared to the singular, independent of the original gender class. In the nominative and accusative cases, no ending is added (-∅), as in die Hunde (nominative/accusative plural). The dative plural generally adds -n to the plural stem if not already present (e.g., den Hunden), though nouns ending in -n or -s remain unchanged (e.g., den Namen). The genitive plural, rarely used in modern German, uses the same noun form as the nominative and accusative plural for both strong (e.g., der Hunde) and weak (e.g., der Namen), with no additional ending on the noun.[32][16][33] The definite article for all plural nouns is die in the nominative and accusative, den in the dative, and der in the genitive, unifying genders into a single paradigm. Indefinite plurals lack a dedicated article; they appear bare (e.g., Hunde) or with quantifiers like andere (other) as in andere Hunde (other dogs). Adjectives agreeing with plural nouns follow a distinct weak or strong declension pattern based on the article's presence.[14][16]| Plural Marker | Typical Application | Example (Singular → Plural) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| -e (with/without umlaut) | Many masculine/neuter nouns | der Tisch → die Tische | Lingolia |
| -er (with umlaut) | Some neuter nouns | das Lamm → die Lämmer | Dartmouth |
| -n/-en | Weak nouns (masculine/feminine) | der Student → die Studenten | Duolingo |
| No marker | Nouns in -el/-en/-er | der Tunnel → die Tunnel | Duden |
| -s | Loanwords, names | das Sofa → die Sofas | Lingolia |
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns in German, known as Personalpronomen, serve to replace nouns referring to the speaker, addressee, or third parties, and they inflect for case (Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, Genitiv), number (Singular, Plural), and person (first, second, third). Unlike English, where pronoun forms are largely fixed except for subject-object distinctions, German personal pronouns exhibit a full paradigm across all four cases, though the Genitiv is now rare in spoken and modern written German, primarily appearing in fixed expressions or formal possession (e.g., wegen meiner).[34] The system distinguishes informal second-person forms (du for singular, ihr for plural) from the formal Sie, which is always capitalized and follows the third-person plural paradigm but addresses one or more people politely.[34] The Nominativ case is used for subjects, the Akkusativ for direct objects or certain prepositions (e.g., durch, für), the Dativ for indirect objects or prepositions indicating location or manner (e.g., mit mir, zu dir), and the Genitiv for possession or prepositions like wegen or trotz, though Dativ often substitutes in contemporary usage.[35][36] Third-person singular forms vary by the grammatical gender of the referent (er for masculine, sie for feminine, es for neuter), while plural sie is gender-neutral.[37] Possessive pronouns derive from the Genitiv forms of personal pronouns (e.g., mein from meiner), but they inflect further as determiners or standalone adjectives.[34] The following table presents the complete declension paradigm for personal pronouns:| Kasus (Case) | 1. Pers. Sg. (1st Sg.) | 2. Pers. Sg. informell (2nd Sg. Inf.) | 3. Pers. Sg. maskulin (3rd Sg. Masc.) | 3. Pers. Sg. feminin (3rd Sg. Fem.) | 3. Pers. Sg. neutrum (3rd Sg. Neut.) | 1. Pers. Pl. (1st Pl.) | 2. Pers. Pl. informell (2nd Pl. Inf.) | 3. Pers. Pl. (3rd Pl.) | 2. Pers. formal (2nd Formal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ (Nom.) | ich | du | er | sie | es | wir | ihr | sie | Sie |
| Genitiv (Gen.) | meiner | deiner | seiner | ihrer | seiner | unser | euer | ihrer | Ihrer |
| Dativ (Dat.) | mir | dir | ihm | ihr | ihm | uns | euch | ihnen | Ihnen |
| Akkusativ (Acc.) | mich | dich | ihn | sie | es | uns | euch | sie | Sie |
Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns in German, known as Possessivpronomen, express ownership or possession and are derived from the corresponding personal pronouns, such as mein- from ich (I) and unser- from wir (we).[38] They function in two primary ways: as determiners that precede and modify a noun to indicate its possessor (e.g., mein Buch, my book), or as standalone pronouns that replace the noun entirely (e.g., Das ist meins, That is mine).[1] In both roles, they must agree in gender, number, and case with the possessed noun, not the possessor, and their inflection follows the pattern of indefinite articles like ein- and kein-.[38] The base forms of possessive pronouns are: mein- (1st person singular, my), dein- (2nd person singular informal, your), sein- (3rd person singular masculine/neuter, his/its), ihr- (3rd person singular feminine, her; also 3rd person plural formal, their), unser- (1st person plural, our), euer- (2nd person plural informal, your), and Ihr- (2nd person plural formal/polite, your).[1] These bases are combined with endings that vary by the grammatical features of the noun they relate to, ensuring syntactic harmony within the noun phrase. The genitive case, though less frequently used in modern spoken German, appears in formal or written contexts to denote possession (e.g., des Besitzers meines Hauses, the owner's of my house).[38] The declension paradigm for possessive determiners and pronouns is identical across all bases and mirrors the indefinite article declension. Below is the paradigm using mein- as an example, showing forms for singular and plural: Singular:| Case | Masculine (e.g., der Vater) | Feminine (e.g., die Mutter) | Neuter (e.g., das Haus) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mein | meine | mein |
| Genitive | meines | meiner | meines |
| Dative | meinem | meiner | meinem |
| Accusative | meinen | meine | mein |
| Case | All Genders (e.g., die Väter) |
|---|---|
| Nominative | meine |
| Genitive | meiner |
| Dative | meinen |
| Accusative | meine |
Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns in German serve to point out specific nouns, indicating proximity, distance, or emphasis, and are inflected for case, gender, and number. The primary types include the proximal demonstrative dieser (this/these), used for items close to the speaker; the distal jener (that/those), for items farther away; the neutral or emphasizing der/die/das (the one/this/that), which functions similarly to definite articles but with greater stress; and the archaic solcher (such), which refers to a particular kind or quality.[40][41][42] These pronouns decline according to paradigms that closely resemble those of definite articles, with dieser and jener following the strong declension pattern when used as determiners, and der/die/das matching the definite article forms exactly. For instance, dieser in the nominative masculine becomes diesen in the accusative, while der shifts to den. The genitive often features pronominal endings like -en or -es.[40][42][41]| Case | Masculine (dieser/jener) | Feminine (diese/jene) | Neuter (dieses/jenes) | Plural (diese/jene) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | dieser/jener | diese/jene | dieses/jenes | diese/jene |
| Accusative | diesen/jenen | diese/jene | dieses/jenes | diese/jene |
| Dative | diesem/jenem | dieser/jener | diesem/jenem | diesen/jenen |
| Genitive | dieses/jenes | dieser/jener | dieses/jenes | dieser/jener |
| Case | Masculine (der) | Feminine (die) | Neuter (das) | Plural (die) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
| Case | Masculine (solcher) | Feminine (solche) | Neuter (solches) | Plural (solche) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | solcher | solche | solches | solche |
| Accusative | solchen | solche | solches | solche |
| Dative | solchem | solcher | solchem | solchen |
| Genitive | solches | solcher | solches | solcher |
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns in German are used to form questions inquiring about the identity, nature, or attributes of persons or things, such as "who," "what," or "which."[46] These pronouns inflect according to case, and in some cases, gender and number, to agree with the grammatical role in the sentence. The main forms include wer and was for personal and impersonal references, respectively, while welcher functions as an adjectival interrogative.[47] The personal interrogative wer ("who") declines based on case to specify the role of the person being asked about. In the nominative, it is wer, as in Wer hat das gesagt? ("Who said that?").[48] The accusative form is wen, used for direct objects, for example, Wen siehst du? ("Whom do you see?").[48] In the dative, it becomes wem, indicating indirect objects or prepositional phrases, such as Wem gibst du das Buch? ("To whom are you giving the book?").[48] The genitive form wessen expresses possession, as in Wessen Auto ist das? ("Whose car is that?").[48] This paradigm applies specifically to questions about people.| Case | Form |
|---|---|
| Nominative | wer |
| Accusative | wen |
| Dative | wem |
| Genitive | wessen |
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | welcher | welche | welches | welche |
| Accusative | welchen | welche | welches | welche |
| Dative | welchem | welcher | welchem | welchen |
| Genitive | welches | welcher | welches | welcher |
Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns in German introduce subordinate relative clauses that provide additional information about a noun or pronoun (the antecedent) in the main clause. They agree with the antecedent in gender, number, and case, but the specific case is determined by the function of the relative pronoun within the relative clause itself. The most common relative pronouns are der, die, and das, which largely follow the declension pattern of the definite articles, with some variations in the genitive and dative plural.[50][51] The paradigm for der, die, and das as relative pronouns is as follows:| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | welcher | welche | welches | welche |
| Accusative | welchen | welche | welches | welche |
| Dative | welchem | welcher | welchem | welchen |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns in German refer to the subject of the clause and are used to indicate actions that reflect back on the performer, forming an essential part of reflexive verb constructions. They derive briefly from the oblique forms of personal pronouns, adapted for self-reference, with the third-person form "sich" being invariant across singular and plural.[53][54] The forms of reflexive pronouns appear only in the accusative and dative cases, as there is no genitive reflexive; they match the personal pronouns for first and second persons but use "sich" uniquely for third person singular, third person plural, and formal "Sie." In the plural, the third-person form remains "sich," while first and second plural use "uns" and "euch" respectively in both cases. The following table summarizes the forms:| Person | Accusative | Dative |
|---|---|---|
| ich (1st sg.) | mich | mir |
| du (2nd sg.) | dich | dir |
| er/sie/es (3rd sg.) | sich | sich |
| wir (1st pl.) | uns | uns |
| ihr (2nd pl.) | euch | euch |
| sie/Sie (3rd pl./formal) | sich | sich |
Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns in German, known as Indefinitpronomen, refer to unspecified persons, things, or quantities and are used to express generality, indefiniteness, or negation without identifying specific referents.[56] They form a diverse category that substitutes for nouns in various syntactic roles, often showing limited or irregular declension compared to personal pronouns. These pronouns are essential for conveying abstract or non-specific ideas in sentences, such as generalizations or existential statements.[1] Indefinite pronouns can be classified into several types based on their referential function. Impersonal pronouns like man (one, you, they in a general sense) express indefinite subjects, typically used for broad statements without specifying individuals. Compound pronouns include forms such as jemand (someone) and niemand (no one), which refer to unspecified persons and often take third-person singular verbs. Quantifying pronouns encompass words like alle (all, everyone), einige (some), and beide (both), which indicate quantity or extent without precise enumeration. Additionally, neuter forms such as etwas (something) and nichts (nothing) address indefinite things.[56][1] Declension of indefinite pronouns is generally limited and varies by type, often following patterns similar to weak adjectives or indefinite articles rather than full strong declension. For instance, man is irregular: it remains man in the nominative but changes to einen in the accusative and einem in the dative, with no genitive form used. Compound personal pronouns like jemand and niemand decline in a weak manner for dative and accusative cases (e.g., jemandem, jemanden; niemandem, niemanden), but remain unchanged in the nominative and lack genitive. Quantifying pronouns such as alle and einige show fuller inflection across cases and genders, particularly in plural forms (e.g., allen dative plural, einigen dative plural). Neuter indefinites like etwas and nichts are indeclinable and remain fixed in all cases. The following table illustrates key declension patterns for selected indefinite pronouns in the singular masculine/neuter where applicable:| Pronoun | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| man | man | einen | einem | — |
| jemand | jemand | jemanden | jemandem | — |
| niemand | niemand | niemanden | niemandem | — |
| alle | alle | alle | allen | aller |
| einige | einige | einige | einigen | einiger |
Adjectives
Predicate adjectives
In German grammar, predicate adjectives occupy the predicate position, typically following copular verbs such as sein ("to be"), werden ("to become"), bleiben ("to remain"), or heißen ("to be called"), where they directly attribute a quality to the subject.[57][58] Unlike adjectives in attributive positions, predicate adjectives do not inflect for case, gender, or number, remaining in their base (dictionary) form.[57][59] For instance, in Das Haus ist groß ("The house is big"), groß appears unchanged, regardless of the subject's grammatical features.[57] This non-declension occurs because the copular verb serves as a direct link between the subject and the adjective, obviating the need for agreement markers that would otherwise specify the adjective's syntactic relationship to the noun.[57] As a result, predicate adjectives function independently of the noun phrase's inflectional requirements, focusing solely on semantic description.[58] Exceptions are limited, primarily involving adjectives that are indeclinable across all uses, such as certain loanwords (happy, super) or color terms (beige, rosa), which retain their base form even in predicate position.[57] Comparative and superlative forms, when used predicatively, also avoid case endings, as in Das Haus ist größer als das Auto ("The house is bigger than the car"), where größer stems from the base but adds no further declensional morphology.[57] Some adjectives are restricted to predicate use only (e.g., plemplem, futsch), reinforcing their uninflected nature.[60] This pattern mirrors English, where predicate adjectives similarly lack inflection, as in "The house is big," due to the copula's role in equating subject and descriptor without requiring agreement.[61]Strong inflection
In German grammar, strong inflection refers to the declension pattern of attributive adjectives when they are not preceded by a definite or indefinite article, or other determiners that fully mark case, number, and gender. In this context, the adjective assumes the primary role of indicating these grammatical features through its endings, drawing from older pronominal paradigms to provide clear morphological cues. This pattern is essential in constructions without articles, ensuring the noun phrase remains inflected appropriately across the four cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive) and three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter), as well as singular and plural numbers.[62] The strong endings are as follows:| Case | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Neuter Singular | Plural (All Genders) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| Accusative | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| Dative | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| Genitive | -en | -er | -en | -er |
Weak inflection
Weak inflection, also referred to as the weak declension, applies to adjectives in attributive position following definite articles in German. This paradigm features highly uniform endings, primarily -e and -en, which reflect a reduced marking of case, gender, and number compared to other declensions. The weak form emerged historically as a way to streamline agreement when the preceding determiner already provides the necessary grammatical information, minimizing redundancy in the noun phrase.[64] The weak inflection is triggered in contexts where the adjective is preceded by an inflected definite article (der, die, das, dem, den, des). For instance, in "der gute Wein" (the good wine, nominative masculine singular), the definite article der specifies the case and gender, prompting the adjective gut to take the weak ending -e. This usage ensures that the determiner bears the primary load of inflectional marking, allowing the adjective to serve primarily as a modifier without extensive agreement requirements.[65] The endings in the weak paradigm are straightforward and exhibit significant syncretism across cases and genders. In the nominative singular for masculine and neuter, as well as nominative and accusative singular for feminine, the ending is -e. The ending -en applies uniformly to all other forms: accusative singular masculine, genitive singular across genders, dative singular across genders, and all plural forms regardless of case. This pattern is illustrated in the following paradigm for the adjective gut (good) after a definite article:| Case | Masculine Singular | Neuter Singular | Feminine Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der gute | das gute | die gute | die guten |
| Accusative | den guten | das gute | die gute | die guten |
| Genitive | des guten | des guten | der guten | der guten |
| Dative | dem guten | dem guten | der guten | den guten |
Mixed inflection
Mixed inflection, also known as the mixed declension, applies to attributive adjectives in German when they follow indefinite articles such as ein or eine, negative determiners like kein, or possessive pronouns such as mein or dein.[68] In these contexts, the preceding determiner provides partial information about the noun's gender, number, and case, but often lacks full case marking, requiring the adjective to supply additional inflectional endings.[69] This pattern blends elements of the strong and weak declensions, using strong-like endings primarily in the nominative and accusative singular to indicate gender and case, while relying on the uniform weak ending -en in the dative and genitive across all genders and numbers, as well as in the accusative masculine and plural nominative and accusative.[70] The mixed paradigm ensures that the adjective compensates for the incomplete declension of the indefinite or possessive determiner, maintaining grammatical agreement within the noun phrase.[69] For instance, in the nominative singular masculine, the ending -er (strong-like) appears after ein, as in ein guter Mann ("a good man"), while the dative requires -en (weak), yielding einem guten Mann ("to a good man").[68] This hybrid approach predominates in the mixed declension, with eight of the twelve singular endings and all four plural endings matching the weak pattern, creating a simplified yet informative structure.[70] The following table illustrates the standard endings for mixed inflection in the singular and plural, applicable after ein-words (no plural form for ein itself, but the pattern holds for possessives like meine in plural contexts):| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -er | -e | -es | -en |
| Accusative | -en | -e | -es | -en |
| Dative | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| Genitive | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Special cases
Adjectival pronouns
Adjectival pronouns in German, also known as adjektivische Pronomen, are a category of pronouns that inflect according to gender, number, and case in a manner similar to adjectives, allowing them to function either attributively before a noun or pronominally to replace one.[40] These pronouns emphasize or specify referents and are distinct from personal pronouns by their agreement properties, which align them closely with adjectival declension rules.[71] The primary types include derjenige ("the one who" or "that one"), welcher ("which one"), and solcher ("such a one"). Derjenige refers to a specific entity often introduced by a relative clause, as in "Derjenige, der kommt, ist willkommen" (The one who comes is welcome).[72] Welcher serves interrogative or relative functions to inquire about or specify alternatives, for example, "Welcher Mann meinst du?" (Which man do you mean?).[73] Solcher expresses similarity or quality, typically in emphatic contexts like "Solch ein Tag wie heute ist selten!" (Such a day as today is rare!).[45] These pronouns decline following patterns akin to definite articles, with endings that indicate case, gender, and number; when used attributively, they trigger weak declension in any following adjective.[71] For derjenige, the paradigm is as follows:| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | derjenige | diejenige | dasjenige | diejenigen |
| Genitive | desjenigen | derjenigen | desjenigen | derjenigen |
| Dative | demjenigen | derjenigen | demjenigen | denjenigen |
| Accusative | denjenigen | diejenige | dasjenige | diejenigen |
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | welcher | welche | welches | welche |
| Genitive | welches/welchen | welcher | welches/welchen | welcher |
| Dative | welchem | welcher | welchem | welchen |
| Accusative | welchen | welche | welches | welche |
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | solcher | solche | solches | solche |
| Genitive | solchen | solcher | solchen | solcher |
| Dative | solchem | solcher | solchem | solchen |
| Accusative | solchen | solche | solches | solche |