What's included here
Practise choosing between der, die and das with three free A1 German exercises. You'll identify the correct articles for common nouns, complete simple sentences and practise remembering nouns together with their articles.
Der Apfel, die Banane, das Brot - why does German have three different words for the?
Every German noun has a grammatical gender, and remembering which article goes with which noun can take some practice.
These exercises will help you get more comfortable with der, die and das, starting with individual words and moving on to complete sentences.
Grammar Recap: Der, Die and Das
In German, nouns have one of three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine or neuter.
Each gender has its own definite article in the nominative case:
- der - masculine
- die - feminine
- das - neuter
For example:
Der Hund schläft.
Die Katze schläft.
Das Kind schläft.
The important thing to remember is that grammatical gender doesn't always follow logic.
For example, das Mädchen (the girl) is grammatically neuter, even though it refers to a female person.
There are some useful patterns, but many nouns simply need to be learned together with their articles.
It's also worth remembering that die is the article for all plural nouns in the nominative case:
Die Hunde schlafen.
These exercises focus on the nominative forms of der, die and das. You'll encounter other article forms when you learn about German cases.
Okay, now let's practise!
Exercise 1: Choose Der, Die or Das
Let's start with individual nouns.
Choose the correct article for each word. If you're unsure, make a note of the noun and try to remember it together with its article.
Exercise 2: German Articles in Sentences
Now let's practise using articles in complete sentences.
Read each sentence and type the missing article. All the missing articles are in the nominative case, so you can use der, die or das according to the noun's gender or number.
Exercise 3: Remember the Noun and Its Article
For the final exercise, let's practise recalling German nouns from memory.
Translate each English word into German, including its article. For example, if you see dog, write der Hund.
Learning the article as part of the word is one of the most useful habits you can develop as a German learner.
| Word | German Word with Article |
|---|---|
| cat | Write |
| dog | Write |
| book | Write |
| car | Write |
| house | Write |
| table | Write |
| chair | Write |
| tree | Write |
| flower | Write |
| computer | Write |
Scroll horizontally to see all columns →
The End
You've practised choosing der, die and das, using articles in sentences and recalling common German nouns from memory.
The most useful habit to take away? Always learn a new noun together with its article. Instead of remembering just Tisch, remember der Tisch.
With enough exposure and practice, these combinations will start to feel more familiar.
For more practice, explore our other exercises, or start our free German A1 course.