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German Declesion
German Declesion
Declensions:
READ THE ARTICLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THIS CHART
Congrats! If you’re searching for ‘declensions’, you’re already far enough along in
learning German to know that it’s essential to learn declensions if you want to get
anywhere!
Declensions are probably the aspect of German that historically causes German-
learners the most wailing and gnashing of teeth.
But don’t worry. It turns out that there’s a much simpler way to learn declensions.
And you’re not going to hear about it anywhere but here. So, let’s go!
• the distinctions that matter (and those that don’t) when talking about
declensions
• how to work with ONE chart (not 10) for all your declensions needs
• basic declensions patterns that bring logic and organization to the
topic
• tips, tricks, and shortcuts for always knowing which declension you
need
The information that is packed into declensions tell us the gender & case of the
noun.
The case of the noun is how we know what role in the sentence it’s playing. And
the gender of the noun is an inseparable feature of the noun that has to come
along for the ride.
Whew! If you’re not already familiar with some of these concepts, this can sound
a little overwhelming. But, don’t worry, we’ll go over this step-by-step!
We couldn’t just say The man the child the woman, right?
That’s not a full sentence. It doesn’t have any meaning. It’s missing crucial
elements that tell us how the man, the child, and the woman relate to each other.
There are different ways of stringing information together so that it makes sense.
Both of these sentences use the exact same components, but the meaning is
changed because the word order is changed!
In German, however, we don’t know which noun is in which ‘slot’ because of the
word order.
Rather, the words that come in front of nouns indicate “who is doing what
to whom” because of their declensions!
Check out those same two sentences translated to German. The words
with bolded letters that come in front of the nouns are the ones that change — do
you see it?
Der Mann gibt der Frau das Kind. (‘The man gives to the woman the child’)
Dem Mann gibt die Frau das Kind. (‘The woman gives to the man the child’)
In these examples, all of the words with bolded letters on the end are different
forms of ‘the’. The bolded letters themselves (<– the small changes!) are the
declensions.
And that is how the meaning of the sentences changed even though the word
order didn’t!
Learning these individual charts can seem deceptively easy – all the work is done
for you – it’s all spelled out. For example, if you need to say ‘the’, there’s a chart
for that!
But almost every chart has 16 words. With 10 charts, that’s up to 160 words to
memorize. OUCH.
The good news is that all these charts have much more in common than not.
That means that it’s possible to combine them all into ONE chart and just mention
a handful of special exceptions — then all our bases are covered!
Don’t find yourself being dependent on all these charts! Memorize the principles. If
you do, you’ll be able to ‘plug’ the information into the All-In-One Chart to get the
answer that you need. Soon, you won’t even need this chart!
And those letters (-r, -e, -s, -n, -m) are declensions. We add them to the ends of
all those types of words listed above (articles, pronouns, adjectives, etc.) to ‘flag’
the roles of the nouns.
But, again, instead of memorizing 10 charts with the declensions tacked onto all
those different types of words, we can learn smarter, not harder by memorizing
just the declensions themselves.
The All-In-One Declensions Chart lists just the declensions. I will soon also give
you the important step-by-step directions so you know how to properly use it. But
first, check it out!
In the Digging Deeper section below, I will explain all the terms & concepts you
need to know in order to use this All-In-One Chart to replace all 10 of those charts.
First, we’ll dive deeper into how the chart fits in with understanding declensions.
Digging Deeper
In this section, you will learn how to master declensions with the All-In-One
Declensions Chart. Including:
That leaves us with the topic of how declensions work, which we’ll unpack now!
Remember: A noun phrase would be like 'the bratty kid,' 'a lonely buffalo,' 'some
red flowers,' where 'kid,' 'buffalo,' and 'flowers' are the nouns and the other words
… are what we’re going to talk about!
Now you might be thinking “ah, ok, all those words from that long, scary list of the
conventional 10 charts … articles, pronouns, adjectives, etc.”
I do mean those words, but we’re going to classify them the smarter, simpler way:
Determiners: a, the, some, few, this, etc. that tell us how many of the noun
or which one.
Adjectives: describe some feature of the noun (e.g. big, small, round, flat, blue).
So, determiners & adjectives are the two types of words (that come in front of
nouns in noun phrases) that take declensions.
For example, if I need to plug in the determiner this (dies-), dependent on where in
the chart it needs to go, I might get any of these values: dieser, diese, dieses,
diesen, diesem.
Similarly, if I need to plug in the adjective small (klein-), I’d get these
values: kleiner, kleine, kleines, kleinen, kleinem, dependent on where in the chart
I need to take the declension from.
This means that in order to actually pick out the correct declensions, you need
some information!
For starters, you need to know the gender & case of the noun in order to identify
the right area of the chart to work with.
For example, if you’re working with a feminine noun (e.g. Butter) and it’s the
subject in the sentence: The yellow butter tastes delicious, then you know you
need to be in the area where the feminine column and the nominative row meet
up.
But then, you still have two declensions to choose from. Now what?
Types of Declensions
After you’ve got the gender & case of the noun sorted out, there’s still some more
work to do: you have to figure out which declensions you need!
There are 2 types of declensions (you can see this in the All-In-One Declensions
Chart above!):
1. Strong declensions better (but not flawlessly) indicate the gender/case of
the noun because they are the most varied.
2. Weak declensions do not indicate the gender/case of the noun because
they have almost no variation (there are just two options: -e or -en).
All the bolded declensions in the examples below are strong declensions:
Der Mann gibt der Frau das Kind. (‘The man gives to the woman the child’)
Dem Mann gibt die Frau das Kind. (‘The woman gives to the man the child’)
BUT there are some clever shortcuts that can save you a lot of time.
Masculine (der):
The end of nouns, or, the suffix is what determines the gender of the noun.
There are certain suffixes that are almost exclusively masculine, feminine, and
neuter.
Feminine: -a, -anz, -enz, -ei, -ie, -heit, -keit, -ik, -sion, -tion, -sis, -tät, -ung, -ur,
schaft
Neuter: -chen, -lein, -icht, -il, -it, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, -um
1. Always fill up the nominative ‘slot’ first — every sentence needs a subject!
2. Default to filling up the accusative ‘slot’ next unless…
3. If you’re using a dative verb, preposition, or adjective: the associated noun
must be in the dative ‘slot’, not the accusative.
4. You can pretty much forget about the genitive case.
3. Declension Patterns
You can see in these FOUR declension patterns (<– the ONLY four there are,
BTW!) that there is a general preference for using the strong declension as
the first priority:
Pattern #1: determiner takes the strong declension; optional adjective(s) take the
weak .
Pattern #3: adjective(s) — the only pre-noun word(s) present — take the strong
declension.
Pattern #4: determiners (<– only specific plural ‘rule-breaker’ ones) take the
strong declension (just like pattern #1) … but the optional adjectives here do, too.
That leaves us with just pattern #2, which is an exception to this general
preference for the strong declension taking priority.
Oddball Pattern #2
The distinction between ein-word and der-word determiners matters ONLY in the:
• masculine nominative
• neuter nominative
• neuter accusative
Normally, the strong declension is used first and a weak declension comes
second, if at all. This is true for der-words AND ein-words! Usually, they are
lumped together as just ‘determiners.’
But … only ein-words only in those 3 spots behave differently by taking no
declension.
Then, if there is an adjective (or multiple), they take the strong declension.
Another way to put it is that pattern #2 is simply pattern #1 shifted over one
spot to the left! … But, again, only for ein-word determiners in 3 specific
instances.
Our declensions rules & patterns from above are easy to see reflected in this
chart.
After you know the gender & case of your noun and find that intersection (of row
& column) of the chart, you have to pick between 2-3 declensions options for the
determiner and/or adjectives.
For example, let’s say you want to say “The young child is tall!”
Then, you just need to pick the correct declensions of the three. And that’s where
we circle back to our 4 declension patterns.
We can take the ideas of the declension rules & patterns and rephrase them a
little so that they work as directions for how to use the All-In-One Declensions
Chart.
• Whatever type of word (<– determiner or adjective) comes first (or alone), it
takes the declension listed under .
• Since determiners & adjectives don’t mix, if a determiner is in the strong
declension spot, any adjectives that follow have to scoot over to the next
spot (weak declensions).
As discussed above, do you see the 3 exception instances when we need to use
declension pattern #2 IF (and only if!) an ein-word determiner is being used?
Yes! The 3 listed under the masculine nominative, neuter nominative, and
neuter accusative.
Even with the 3 exception cases, these same basic principles apply, just shifted
over a position!
In our All-In-One Chart, we’ve listed just the basic declensions shared in
common between these 10 total charts you usually have to learn (but no longer
have to — hooray!).
That is why the All-In-One Declensions Chart has just one letter in each spot.
NOTE: the ‘e’s are capitalized so you can clearly see them being added in each
time. The declensions are bolded as always.
nominative: diesEr rote Apfel
accusative: diesEn rotEn Apfel
dative: diesEm rotEn Apfel
genitive: diesEs rotEn Apfels
Does it make more sense now when I say that you almost always have to add an
‘e’ between the root determiner / adjective and the needed declensions?
The dash at the end of ‘root’ determiners & adjectives is where we add all the
different declensions, dependent on the gender & case of the following noun.
Just the dies- part is what actually carries the meaning of ‘this’. Likewise,
just rot- means ‘red’. But without the declensions reflecting gender/case, we
couldn’t use ‘this’ or ‘red’ in a German sentence.
Did you notice above the one time that we did NOT add an ‘e’ before putting on
the declension?
Similarly, to say the dark plum, there are no inserted ‘e’s: die dunkle Pflaume.
YES! It’s very simple: if an ‘e’ is the declension itself, don’t insert another one!
Example
Let’s look at a two-part example using basic declension pattern #1: determiner +
adjective.
Be sure to notice the added ‘e’s before a consonant declension (-r, -n, -m, -s), but
not before an -e declension!
Part 1: determiner
Let’s use ein (‘a’) in a few gender/case combos. That’s an important little
word! See how the All-In-One Chart helps you know exactly which declensions to
put on.
Part 2: adjective
Now let’s put braun (brown) after each of those instances of ‘ein’ from above.
The adjective will be shifted over one spot from the ein-word determiner! Most of
the time, that will mean a weak declension. But in our 3 exception
instances, braun will need to take a strong declension.
Well done! I hope you’re really starting to see how this All-In-One Declensions
Chart will support your German-learning. Learning German can be efficient,
effective, and fun after all.
Oddballs
There are a couple instances in which the debate between inserting an ‘e’ or not
doesn’t quite cut it. Do you know what I’m talking about?
Well done. When we’re dealing with definite articles (‘the’), sometimes we have to
insert a different vowel!
•All our definite articles (‘the’) are 3-letter words that start with ‘d’ (<– the
‘root’).
• All of them end with whatever the strong declension is (<– standard rule).
• Most of them have an ‘e’ inserted in the middle (der, den, dem, des)
So … which versions of ‘the’ take different vowels?
There are two special words you need to remember: die and das.
That leaves all the rest of the time: insert an ‘e’ between the ‘root’ word
(determiner or adjective) before putting on the supplied declension from the chart.
Special Situations
The All-In-One Declensions Chart can feel a little complicated until you get the
hang of it, I know.
Trust me: learning how to work with it will still save you heaps of time and energy
compared to working with ten different charts!
There are several last things you need to learn about in order to use the All-In-
One Declensions Chart like a master:
ALL plural nouns in the dative case add an -n to the end of them IF there’s not
one there already OR unless the plural form is -s (e.g. with foreign nouns):
nominative plural: die Kinder (the children) → dative plural: den Kindern
BUT
nominative plural: die Wagen (the cars) → dative plural: den Wagen
nominative plural: die Autos (also ‘the cars’) → dative plural: den Autos
In the genitive case only, masculine & neuter nouns take an ‘s’ or ‘es’ at the end
of them:
There is no good reason why the terminology is ‘weak’ masculine nouns, but
anyway, here is how it works:
Most of the ‘weak’ masculine nouns refer to male people or animals. Notice that
many nouns end with -e OR with a suffix of foreign origin (e.g. -arch, -ist, -om):
NOTE: Other less common examples include Prinz (prince), Narr (fool),
Ochs (ox), Fink (finch), Spatz (sparrow), Pfau (peacock).
Of course, all of those nouns ^^ would have female variants, too; but those do not
apply to our special situation! (Read more on female noun variants).
*There is a short list of ‘weak’ masculine nouns that add the -n and THEN an -s in
the genitive, as per regular rules:
There is even ONE neuter noun that is semi-‘weak’: das Herz (nom)→ das
Herz (acc) → dem Herzen (dat) → des Herzens (gen)
Notes:
Well, now just imagine that you can use a zero word anywhere in the Chart and
it functions the same way:
There are a few strictly Zero Words used with singular nouns:
Examples:
Bitte schenk mir etwas heißes Wasser ein! (Please pour me [into my cup] a little
hot water!).
Auf genug Zeit kommt es nicht dran (It doesn’t have anything to do with having
enough time).
Ein paar fleißige Studenten meldeten sich (A couple hard-working students raised
their hands).
There are some determiners that function as zero words in the singular, but as
determiners (that do take declensions!) in the plural, which leads straight into our
next special situation:
Of course, the role of the word in the given phrase impacts which declension (if
any) it must take!
As you can see in the following huge table, here are several words that function
as zero words in the singular AND as determiners in the plural:
wenig(-) (a little)
viel(-) (a lot)
manch(-) (many)
solch(-) (such)
all(-) (all)*
*Also functions as a zero word in the plural (See below for more).
TABLE CORRECTION: ‘Zero Words’ used in the singular are followed by
modifiers taking the strong declension except that solch- and manch- may be
followed by an ein-word, which must follow our regular rules regarding declension
pattern #1 vs. #2.
So, for example, one would say ‘Solch ein Fehler wird nie wieder vorkommen.’
(declension pattern #2) but ‘Solch eine Überraschung kommt nicht oft vor!’
(declension pattern #1).
Likewise, one would say ‘Manch ein Mann versteht das nicht,’ but ‘Manch eine
Frau versteht das nicht.’
And here are some similar examples, but with the words functioning as plural
determiners:
Determiners / Pronouns
Determiners / Pronouns will all take strong declensions as per our standard rules
& basic declension pattern #1 that follows from them.
Determiners vs. Pronouns is a worthy distinction in that they each play a different
grammatical role in a given sentence.
For example:
Determiner: Solche Schuhe finde ich ganz schön (I think shoes such as these
are really lovely).
Pronoun: Welche Schuhe möchtest du? –Solche! (Which shoes do you want? –
Ones like these!)
BUT! Determiners vs. Pronouns take the same declensions (like you can
see in the above examples ^^) except in a handful of special instances
(covered soon).
So, for our purposes (<– since we’re not linguists), we don’t really care about the
technical distinction. We care about the functional sameness!
The ONLY time the determiners vs. pronouns distinction matters is with ein-
words: ein, kein, irgendein, and all of the possessives.
Example:
Determiner: Einen blauen Rock hätte ich gerne! (I’d like a blue skirt)
Pronoun: So einen! [points to a blue skirt] (One [replacing ‘a blue skirt’] like
this!).
Determiner / Adjective
You can see the in massive table that there are also many words that can function
as either a plural determiner or as an adjective (in front of a plural noun).
NOTE: the determiner ein is our only exception case: it is a singular, not plural,
determiner; as an adjective, it works like this: Das eine Buch, das ich dieses Jahr
gelesen habe … (The one book I read this year …)
In the plural, we still have two distinct categories of determiners: one that always
follows the rules (like der-words) and one that is all about exceptions (like ein-
words). ← For more discussion on this point, read my study tips below.
Now, did you notice some words in that huge table that have an * in front of them?
Here, look again:
Those * in the table mark the rulebreaking plural determiners!
In contrast to the regular determiners that are similar to the concept of der-words,
these rulebreakers are akin to ein-words: they are indefinite, or, in other words,
more vague.
Rulebreaker Determiners:
TIP: Because the plural dative strong & weak declensions are identical, you don’t
in that instance have to worry about if a determiner is regular or a rulebreaker -- it
doesn’t make a difference.
What’s weird about its zero word status, though, is that all- can be used as a zero
word in the singular or in the plural.
In the singular:
All das schlechte Wetter macht mir schlechte Laune!
Notice: all-, of course, has no declension. The determiner takes the strong
declension and the adjective the weak one listed for the neuter nominative and as
per declension pattern #1.
Notice: the adjective unaufrichtig- has the strong plural accusative declension!
Notice the strong declension on all- and the weak one on gut-!
Main Takeaways
1. German is an inflected language that uses declensions to indicate
the case of each noun (who is doing what to whom) in any given sentence.
2. Since German nouns also have gender, this feature also has to be taken
into account when figuring out the right declensions to use in each situation.
3. It is specifically determiners & adjectives (the words that come in front of
nouns)that take declensions that indicate the noun’s gender & case.
4. There are strong and weak declensions AND also 3 instances
when no declension is used.
5. Declensions follow two standard patterns, and then there’s a 3rd exception
pattern that occurs in just 3 instances.
6. Rather than studying 10 different charts of various words with their attached
declensions, you can memorize just ONE chart of declensions only and
learn the simple rules for how to know when to use which one.
7. Zero words are special determiners that do not take declensions anywhere
on the chart!
8. Some plural determiners break our standard rules by taking strong
declensions AND requiring that any following adjectives take strong
declensions, too.
9. Some words have multiple functions (possible options: zero word,
determiner / pronoun, adjective).
Study Tips
For once, I really only have one study tip: USE THE ALL-IN-ONE DECLENSIONS
CHART!
Forget about the others. You don’t need them. They’re confusing. They make
distinctions that aren’t useful. And they tediously repeat the bulk of the information
anyway.
In a way, we could think of the regular plural determiners as being like der-
words (like ‘this’ and ‘that’) because they are more specific, more definable, more
definite.
HOWEVER, notice that all of the traditional ein-words (except ‘a’, which you can’t
say with a plural noun!) are on this list, too: kein, all the possessives,
and irgendwelch- (which is akin to irgendein-).
The normal way of categorizing der- vs. ein-words for singular nouns
has nothing to do with how specific or vague the determiner is. But in the plural,
that’s what it’s all about!
If you don’t like repurposing the same vocabulary of der- and ein-words like this,
that is totally fine (and understandable, too).
I just want you to notice the distinction here between the regular determiners
(specific) vs. the rulebreakers (vague). And then I recommend coming up
with some way to help yourself remember which determiners belong to which
category.
NOTE: the two words that seem (to different extents) to break this pattern
of specific vs. vague are irgendwelch- (regular determiner)
and folgend- (rulebreaker).
In a way, irgendwelch- seems vague — it does mean ‘any’ after all! — but if you
think of it in context, as in, Any of those methods would be fine with me, ‘any’ is
actually delineating a specific, limited number [of methods].
However, I don’t have any good explanation for folgend-. :-p It really does just
break our nice little pattern (darn!). It’s specific, not vague, and there’s no two
ways about it. Ah well!