What's included here
Practise German demonstrative pronouns and determiners with these free A2 exercises. You'll learn how to use dieser, diese and dieses to point out specific people and things, including their nominative, accusative and dative endings.
Welchen Pullover möchtest du? Diesen oder diesen?
When you're choosing between two jumpers, pointing to something in a shop or talking about a particular person, demonstratives come in handy.
The tricky part is that German changes their endings depending on gender, number and case.
Grammar Recap: German Demonstratives
Using dieser, diese and dieses
The forms of dieser are used to point to specific people or things. They often translate as "this" or "these", but can also mean "that" or "those" depending on context.
They can appear before a noun:
Dieser Pullover ist teuer.
Or replace a noun that is already understood:
Welchen Pullover möchtest du? Diesen.
When the demonstrative appears before a noun, it's technically called a demonstrative determiner. When it replaces a noun, it's a demonstrative pronoun.
How the endings change
The endings depend on the noun's gender, number and grammatical case.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | dieser | diese | dieses | diese |
| Accusative | diesen | diese | dieses | diese |
| Dative | diesem | dieser | diesem | diesen |
Notice that the endings are similar to those of der, die and das.
Ich kaufe dieses Buch.
Ich spreche mit dieser Frau.
Dieser gefällt mir.
In the last example, dieser replaces a masculine noun that is already understood.
Exercise 1: Nominative Demonstratives
Start with the nominative case.
Choose the correct form of dieser for the noun. Remember to check whether it's masculine, feminine, neuter or plural.
Exercise 2: Accusative Demonstratives
Now practise the accusative case.
Remember that masculine nouns change from dieser to diesen. Feminine, neuter and plural forms stay the same as in the nominative.
Exercise 3: Dative Demonstratives
Let's move on to the dative.
Complete each sentence with the correct form of dieser. Pay attention to the noun's gender and the preposition or verb.
Exercise 4: Mixed Cases
Now you'll need to decide which case is required before choosing the ending.
Type the correct form of dieser in each sentence.
Exercise 5: This One or That One?
So far, you've used demonstratives before nouns. Now let's use them independently as pronouns.
The noun is already clear from the question, so you don't need to repeat it. Choose the correct form to replace it.
Exercise 6: Complete the Answer
For the final exercise, answer each question using a demonstrative pronoun instead of repeating the noun.
Write the complete short answer shown in the example pattern.
Example:
Welchen Mantel möchtest du? → Diesen hier.
The End
You've practised using dieser, diese and dieses in the nominative, accusative and dative cases, both before nouns and as independent pronouns.
Remember that the ending depends on the gender, number and case of the noun you're referring to, even when you don't repeat the noun itself.
For more practice with German pronouns, explore our German pronouns exercises, or browse our other German exercises.