German Adjective Declension
Last updated:
Learn the endings of attributive German adjectives after definite articles, after ein-words, and without an article. Practise the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive in everyday sentences.
Explanation
When does an adjective take an ending?
An adjective before a noun is declined: ein ruhiger Platz, die kalte Suppe. After verbs such as sein, werden, or bleiben, it has no ending: Der Platz ist ruhig.
Together with the determiner, the ending signals case, gender, and number. The key question is how much grammatical information the determiner already shows.
1. After a definite article: weak endings
After der/die/das, dieser, jeder, and alle, the determiner clearly signals the case. The adjective almost always takes -en; only nominative singular in all three genders and accusative singular feminine/neuter take -e.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|
| Nominative | der neue Kurs | die neue App | das neue Buch | die neuen Bücher |
| Accusative | den neuen Kurs | die neue App | das neue Buch | die neuen Bücher |
| Dative | dem neuen Kurs | der neuen App | dem neuen Buch | den neuen Büchern |
| Genitive | des neuen Kurses | der neuen App | des neuen Buches | der neuen Bücher |
2. After ein-words: mixed endings
The ein-words include ein, kein, mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, and Ihr (capitalized formal “your”). When the determiner has no visible ending, the adjective supplies the signal: ein gut-er Plan, ein ruhig-es Zimmer. Elsewhere the adjective usually takes -en.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural with kein-/possessive |
|---|
| Nominative | ein neuer Kurs | eine neue App | ein neues Buch | keine neuen Bücher |
| Accusative | einen neuen Kurs | eine neue App | ein neues Buch | keine neuen Bücher |
| Dative | einem neuen Kurs | einer neuen App | einem neuen Buch | keinen neuen Büchern |
| Genitive | eines neuen Kurses | einer neuen App | eines neuen Buches | keiner neuen Bücher |
3. Without an article: strong endings
Without a determiner, the adjective usually carries the case signal itself.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|
| Nominative | frischer Saft | warme Milch | kaltes Wasser | reife Birnen |
| Accusative | frischen Saft | warme Milch | kaltes Wasser | reife Birnen |
| Dative | frischem Saft | warmer Milch | kaltem Wasser | reifen Birnen |
| Genitive | frischen Saftes | warmer Milch | kalten Wassers | reifer Birnen |
In genitive singular masculine and neuter, the adjective takes -en because the noun marks the case with -(e)s.
How to choose the ending
- Identify the case: subject, accusative object, dative object, or possession.
- Identify the noun's gender and number.
- Check the determiner: definite article, ein-word, or no article.
- Choose the ending from the matching pattern.
Memory aid: The less the determiner shows, the more the adjective ending must show.
Additional signals and special cases
The signal principle as minimal pairs
The determiner and adjective share the grammatical information. If the determiner carries a clear signal, the adjective is usually weak; if that signal is absent, the adjective supplies it.
- der schnelle Zug – but ein schneller Zug: der already shows masculine nominative; ein does not.
- das moderne Büro – but ein modernes Büro: the missing neuter signal appears on the adjective.
- die neuen Geräte – but neue Geräte: plural takes -en with an article and -e without one.
- mit den freundlichen Nachbarn – but mit freundlichen Nachbarn: both patterns take -en in dative plural; the noun normally also adds -n.
- wegen des starken Regens – wegen starken Regens: in genitive masculine/neuter without an article, the adjective still takes -en; noun -(e)s carries the genitive signal.
Several adjectives
Coordinated adjectives before the same noun take the same ending: Wir suchen ein helles, ruhiges Zimmer. The same applies without an article: Frischer, aromatischer Kaffee duftet im Flur.
Nominalized adjectives
When the noun is omitted, capitalize the adjective; its ending still depends on determiner, case, gender, and number: Der neue Drucker ist schneller als der alte. In the plural: Die Neuen arbeiten mit den Erfahrenen zusammen.
Forms without a normal declension ending
- Before uncountable nouns, viel and wenig often remain unchanged: Wir haben viel Zeit, aber wenig Geld. With countable plurals they are declined: Viele Gäste stellten wenige Fragen.
- mehr remains unchanged: Heute kommen mehr Besucher als gestern.
- With many adjectives ending in -el, unstressed e is dropped before the ending: ein komfortables Sofa, not komfortabeles Sofa.
- To the right of the noun or after sein/werden/bleiben, no ending is used: Der lange Weg ist anstrengend.
Exercises
- Sort the noun phrases by declension pattern: after a definite article, after an ein-word, or without an article. (2)
- Complete the correct adjective ending. Enter only the ending, for example e, en, or es. (11)
- Complete the short texts with endings from the word bank. Endings may be used more than once. (4)
- Use the cue to write a complete sentence with the correctly declined adjective. (16)
A2 · German · Grammar