N-Declension
Learn which masculine German nouns take -(e)n outside the nominative singular. Practise accusative, dative, and genitive forms and distinguish singular from plural.
Explanation
German n-declension
Some **masculine nouns** take **-(e)n** in the **accusative, dative, and genitive singular**. The **nominative singular** has no such ending; in the plural, -(e)n is already part of the plural form.
| Case | Singular: der Student | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der Student | die Studenten |
| Accusative | den Studenten | die Studenten |
| Dative | dem Studenten | den Studenten |
| Genitive | des Studenten | der Studenten |
Typical groups include people and animals ending in **-e** (*Kunde, Hase*), person nouns ending in **-ant, -ent, -ist, -oge**, and common individual nouns such as *Mensch, Herr, Nachbar, Bauer, Held,* and *Prinz*.
Most take **-en**; a few short nouns take **-n**, such as *Herr - Herrn*. *Name, Gedanke, Glaube,* and *Friede* add **-s** in the genitive: *des Namens, des Gedankens*.
Singular or plural?
A form such as **Studenten** may be singular or plural. The article, preposition, and verb reveal the number: *mit dem Studenten* is singular; *mit den Studenten* is plural.
The neuter noun **Herz** is an important exception: *das Herz, dem Herzen, des Herzens*.
Additional groups and special cases
Further productive endings are **-and, -at, -graf**: *mit dem Doktoranden, den Automaten prüfen, die Arbeit des Geografen*. **Buchstabe** belongs to the extended group: *die Form des Buchstabens*.
**Herr** has singular *Herrn* but plural *Herren*: *Sehr geehrter Herr Seifert; ich spreche mit Herrn Seifert; die Herren warten.* In addresses: *An Herrn Paul Seifert*.
Minimal pair: *Ich sehe den Ingenieur* (normal) – *Ich sehe den Architekten* (n-declension).
Informal speech may omit the ending, but standard German requires *mit dem Studenten*, not *mit dem Student*.
Exercises
- Sort every noun into n-declension or regular declension. (1)
- Complete the correct noun form. Pay attention to case and number. (10)
- Build a complete sentence from the cues and decline the noun correctly. (10)
B1 · German · Grammar