Adjective Declension
Master the tricky world of German adjective endings.
What you'll learn
In this lesson, we'll dig into adjective endings — the part where adjectives change shape depending on the noun's gender, case, and article. It's the trickiest topic in A1, but we'll take it slow with clear tables and examples.
Welcome to another lesson about adjectives. This time, we'll go a little bit deeper and explore German adjective declension.
1. Attributive Adjectives
In the previous lesson, we used predicative adjectives, where the adjective comes after the verb. For example:
Predicative adjectives rely on a linking verb, like ist in the sentence above.
However, attributiveadjectives come before the noun and don't need a linking verb, allowing for more flexibility in sentence structure. For example:
Notice how the adjective grün is declined to grüne. This is because, when placed before the noun, both the article & the adjective become responsible for indicating it's case.
| Predicative Adjectives | Attributive Adjectives |
|---|---|
| ... are used after the noun | ... are used just before the noun |
| ... don't decline | ... decline |
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2. Declension Indicates Case
In German, identifying the case of a noun is important because it tells us the role it plays in a sentence, such as a subject or object. We can determine the noun's case through declension.
Remember:
Two types of words undergo declension: determiners (like articles) and attributive adjectives.
| Type | Example | Declines? |
|---|---|---|
| definite articles | der, die, das | 👍 |
| indefinite articles | ein, eine | 👍 |
| adjectives | lecker, groß, schön | 👍 |
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Check out these sentences:
- Der kalte Wind weht.the cold wind blows
- Kalter Wind weht.cold wind blows
In both, the case of the noun der Wind is clear through the declension of the article and/or adjective (nominative).
3. Adjective Declension (Nominative & Accusative)
Strong, Weak and Mixed Declension
Now that we know that attributive adjectives must decline, let's learn how to do this.
There are three ways to decline adjectives: strong, mixed and weak.
| Case | Masc | Fem | Neut | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom | roter Apfel | rote Blume | rotes Haus | rote Autos |
| Acc | roten Apfel | rote Blume | rotes Haus | rote Autos |
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| Case | Masc | Fem | Neut | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom | ein roter Apfel | eine rote Blume | ein rotes Haus | meine roten Autos |
| Acc | einen roten Apfel | eine rote Blume | ein rotes Haus | meine roten Autos |
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| Case | Masc | Fem | Neut | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom | der rote Apfel | die rote Blume | das rote Haus | die roten Autos |
| Acc | den roten Apfel | die rote Blume | das rote Haus | die roten Autos |
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Notice that weak declension only uses -e and -en endings, while strong declension uses -er, -e, and -es endings to indicate noun gender as well as case, just like definite articles do.
To determine which type of declension to use, we can follow these rules:
- no article + adjective + noun → strong declension
- indefinite article('ein', 'mein') + adjective + noun → mixed declension
- definite article + adjective + noun → weak declension
| Type | Article | Adjective | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| strong | - | glücklicher | Junge |
| mixed | ein | glücklicher | Junge |
| weak | der | glückliche | Junge |
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4. Exercise
Now, take a look at the sentences below and try to correctly decline the adjectives, using the rules above.
5. Summary
Key things to consider when declining adjectives:
- Noun gender (die Schildkröte, der Apfel)
- Noun case (nominative or accusative)
- Whether to use strong, mixed or weak declension
Great job! 🎉 You've started using adjective declensions in your sentences! When you're ready, move on to the next lesson: German Negation.
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