Der, Die, Das Basics
German nouns have genders: masculine (der), feminine (die), and neuter (das). Unlike English, memorizing the gender of each noun is crucial for accuracy in grammar, as it affects articles and adjective endings.
Verb Positioning Rules
In a German main clause, the conjugated verb is always in the second position. However, in a question or subordinate clause, the verb may come first or last, respectively. This positioning is key to the sentence structure.
Capitalizing German Nouns
Every noun in German is capitalized, a unique trait in the Germanic language family. This rule helps readers quickly identify nouns in a sentence, aiding comprehension and providing a structural cue.
Adjective Endings Insight
German adjective endings vary with gender, case, and definiteness of the noun they describe. There are different endings for adjectives after definite articles (der-words), indefinite articles (ein-words), and no articles.
Case System Overview
German has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. The case affects articles, adjectives, and noun endings. Nominative is for subjects, accusative for direct objects, dative for indirect objects, and genitive indicates possession.
Plurals Aren't Uniform
German plural forms aren’t as straightforward as adding an 's' like in English. They can end in -e, -er, -n/en, -s, or have no change at all, sometimes with umlaut changes. The plural form must be memorized for each noun.
Conjugation by Pronoun
Verbs in German change based on the subject pronoun (ich, du, er/sie/es, etc.). For regular verbs, there are standard endings for each pronoun. However, watch out for the irregular verbs with stem vowel changes or special endings.
What affects German adjective endings?
Verb conjugation
Gender, case, definiteness
Sentence length
Company
