Demonstrativartikel in German

Demonstrativartikel are used to point to specific people and things more clearly than a normal article: dieser Stuhl, jene Stadt, derselbe Fehler. In this lesson you learn the most important forms you need on levels A1–A2.

1"dieser" – pointing to something near

"dieser" (with forms dieser, diese, dieses) is used for things that are close in space, time, or in the conversation.

1.1 Meaning and use

• Spatial nearness: Dieser Tisch (right here)
• Time nearness: Dieses Wochenende, dieser Monat
• Discourse nearness: Diese Idee (the idea you just mentioned)

1.2 Declension of "dieser"

1.3 Examples

• Dieser Stuhl ist bequem. (This chair here is comfortable.)
• Ich kaufe diese Jacke. (I buy this jacket.)
• Wir besuchen dieses Museum morgen. (We visit this museum tomorrow.)
• Ich spreche mit diesen Nachbarn. (I am talking with these neighbours.)

2"jener" – pointing to something distant

"jener" (with jener, jene, jenes) points to something more distant in space, time, or topic. In everyday speech people often use der, die, das instead; jener sounds rather written or formal.

2.1 Declension of "jener"

2.2 Examples

• Jenes Haus dort gehört meiner Tante. (That house over there belongs to my aunt.)
• Ich erinnere mich an jenen Sommer. (I remember that (long ago) summer.)

3"derselbe" and "derjenige"

Both forms have two parts:

• derselbe = der + selbe: identical, exactly the same object
• derjenige = der + jenige: that particular one, often with a relative clause

3.1 Declension of "derselbe"

Examples:

• Wir machen denselben Fehler jeden Tag. (We make the same mistake every day.)
• Sie trägt dieselbe Jacke wie gestern. (She is wearing the same jacket as yesterday.)

3.2 "derjenige" with a relative clause

derjenige, diejenige, dasjenige, diejenigen are very often followed by a relative clause (der, die, das …) to specify someone or something exactly.

Typical patterns: derjenige …, der …; diejenige …, die …; dasjenige …, das …

Examples:

• Das ist derjenige Schüler, der immer zu spät kommt. (That is the pupil who is always late.)
• Ich suche diejenige Person, die mir gestern geholfen hat. (I am looking for the person who helped me yesterday.)

Forms of "derjenige": the first part (der, die, das, die) is declined like the definite article, the second part (jenige) stays the same:

• Nominativ: derjenige Mann, diejenige Frau, dasjenige Kind, diejenigen Leute
• Akkusativ: denjenigen Mann, diejenige Frau, dasjenige Kind, diejenigen Leute

4Difference from the article "der, die, das"

In everyday German der, die, das can also work as a Demonstrativartikel when it is stressed and combined with a gesture or context:

• Der Mann dort (that man over there, not just any man)

Compared to dieser/jener: dieser clearly marks nearness, jener marks distance, der is more neutral and very frequent.

5Short overview