TOPIC · Adjectives (Adjektive)

How to decline adjective endings (Adjektivdeklination)

A2B1

After this lesson, learners will be able to correctly decline adjectives in German based on gender and case.

In this lesson, we will explore the declension of adjectives in German. Adjectives must be modified when they appear before a noun. The endings of the adjectives depend on three main factors: the gender of the noun, the case (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive), and the type of article used before the noun. Let’s dive into the different ways of declension.

1. Adjective endings with definite articles (bestimmter Artikel)

masculinefeminineneutralplural
Nominative-e-e-e-en
Accusative-en-e-e-en
Dative-en-en-en-en
Genitive-en-en-en-en

Example: Der rote Apfel liegt auf dem Tisch.
(The red apple is on the table.)
→ "rote" is modified for the noun "Apfel" (masculine, nominative) and receives the ending -e: "Der rote Apfel."

Note: With definite articles, adjectives take the ending -en in Dative and Genitive for all genders and in Accusative for masculine nouns.

2. Adjective endings with indefinite articles (unbestimmter Artikel)

masculinefeminineneutralplural
Nominative-er-e-es-en
Accusative-en-e-es-en
Dative-en-en-en-en
Genitive-en-en-en-en

Example: Ich habe einen neuen Computer.
(I have a new computer.)
→ "neuen" is modified for the noun "Computer" (masculine, accusative) using the indefinite article.

Note: With indefinite articles, adjective endings follow a similar pattern to definite articles in the nominative and accusative cases.

3. Adjective endings without an article (ohne Artikel)

masculinefeminineneutralplural
Nominative-er-e-es-e
Accusative-en-e-es-e
Dative-em-er-em-en
Genitive-en-er-en-er

Example: Viele interessante Bücher sind da.
(Many interesting books are here.)
→ "interessante" gets the ending -e since it refers to plural nouns in the nominative.

Note: In these situations, the adjective endings are treated similarly to definite articles except for the Genitive for masculine and neuter nouns (where they receive -en).