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Pluralbildung

A1Plural forms

Ich sehe die Bücher.

I see the books.

ERKLÄRUNG

German plural forms are not built with one single ending. You need to recognise the common patterns and learn the plural with each noun.

In German, nouns have different plural patterns, and you usually learn the plural together with the noun: der Tisch, -e. The article is always die in the plural, no matter what the singular article is. The main patterns at A1 are -e often with umlaut, -er often with umlaut, -(e)n for many feminine nouns, -s for loanwords and nouns ending in a vowel, and zero plural. Nouns ending in -er, -el, -en often keep the same ending in the plural; some of them also get an umlaut, for example der Lehrer – die Lehrer, der Vater – die Väter, die Mutter – die Mütter. These are tendencies, not strict rules, so some nouns must simply be memorised.

STRUKTUR

Singular noun + plural ending -e; sometimes with umlaut

This pattern is very common with many masculine nouns.

der Tisch – die Tischethe table – the tables
der Stuhl – die Stühlethe chair – the chairs
der Hund – die Hundethe dog – the dogs

Singular noun + plural ending -er; often with umlaut

This pattern is common with many neuter nouns.

das Buch – die Bücherthe book – the books
das Haus – die Häuserthe house – the houses
das Kind – die Kinderthe child – the children

Singular noun + plural ending -(e)n

Many feminine nouns use this pattern.

die Frau – die Frauenthe woman – the women
die Lampe – die Lampenthe lamp – the lamps
der Name – die Namenthe name – the names

ÜBERSICHT

Common plural patterns at A1

Pattern	Example singular	Plural	Typical nouns	Note
-e	der Tisch	die Tische	many masculine nouns	often with umlaut
-er	das Buch	die Bücher	many neuter nouns	often with umlaut
-(e)n	die Frau	die Frauen	many feminine nouns	very common
-s	das Auto	die Autos	loanwords, nouns ending in a vowel	often from English
kein Suffix	der Lehrer	die Lehrer	some nouns, often masculine	sometimes with umlaut

TYPISCHE FEHLER

Die Kinder lesen neue Bucher.
Die Kinder lesen neue Bücher.
Bucher is a wrong spelling and an incorrect plural form. The noun das Buch has the irregular plural die Bücher with -er and an umlaut, so you must write Bücher in this sentence.
Auf dem Tisch stehen die Tasse.
Auf dem Tisch stehen die Tassen.
After die in plural, the noun must also be plural. Tassen is correct; Tasse is singular.
Wir brauchen fünf Auto.
Wir brauchen fünf Autos.
Loanwords like Auto usually take -s in the plural. The singular form is wrong after fünf.
Die Mann warten draußen.
Die Männer warten draußen.
The noun Mann has the irregular plural Männer (it adds -er and takes an umlaut), so with the plural article die and the plural verb warten you must use Männer, not singular Mann.

HINWEISE

Always learn the plural together with the noun: der Tisch, -e; das Buch, -er; die Frau, -(e)n.
The plural article is always die. This is true for all genders.
Umlaut often appears in plural forms, but not every noun gets one. Compare Tische and Stühle.
Do not confuse plural -s with English spelling. In German, it is common with Auto, Handy, Kino.

VERWANDT

Bestimmter Artikel und GenusDefinite article and genderA1 Unbestimmter Artikel: ein, eineIndefinite articleA1 Negation: nicht und keinkein and nichtA1 Akkusativ: Artikel und PronomenAkkusative object formsA1

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