Confusing? You’re telling me! But, trust me, with time you’ll start to pick this up. Take a look at the sentence again. Masculine nouns take denwhen they are in the accusative case, so that means the man must be the one being bit. (In English, which has no case system, word order is more important because we don’t have these cues.) The German case system shows us the difference between who or what is acting and who or what is acted upon. (The dog bites the man.)Īt first glance, you might think the above sentence would translate as “the man bites the dog.” However, we should know that it’s the other way around. The genitive case is used to show possession so, as the food belongs to the dog in the above sentence, we use the genitive masculine definite article, des. More often than not, nouns after desusually add an -s or – es to the end, which is why Hund has turned into Hunds.ĭen Mann beißt der Hund. Here, the dog is in the dative case as it’s now the indefinite object. ![]() This means it’s in the accusative case, so derchanges to den. In this instance, the dog is the object of the sentence. Here are five examples of this in action:Īs Hund is a masculine noun and the subject of this sentence, it has to take der(the). You can see how genders and cases affect articles in this really useful table. Depending on the noun’s gender and sentence case, we might need to change their definite or indefinite article. ![]() In addition, their definite and indefinite articles (the, a/an) depend on their case.Ĭases affect nouns, and their case changes if they are the object, subject or indirect object in a sentence. In German, nouns are either masculine, feminine or neutral. One of the main differences between English and German is noun genders. A Noun’s Gender Determines Its Definite Article Verbs (Usually) Come Second in a Sentenceĭownload: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬan take anywhere. Adjective Endings Must Agree with a Noun’s Gender and Case ![]() To get beginners up and running, here are six German grammar rules that are worth learning, as well as some key similarities and differences between English and German, so that you can start to build your confidence in understanding and forming German sentences. It may not sound as exciting as watching German movies or reading interesting novels, but it’s exactly those types of works that you’ll be able to fully appreciate and adore once you nail the rules. It’s important to see grammar as the nuts and bolts of any language. By Laura Harker Last updated: Novem6 German Grammar Rules That Every Beginner Should Know
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