Adjective endings

Why “einen roten Mantel” but “eine freundliche Person”?

Take a look

Der große Mann liest.The tall man is reading.
Ich sehe den kleinen Hund.I see the small dog.
Ein kaltes Bier, bitte.A cold beer, please.
Sie trägt eine rote Jacke.She is wearing a red jacket.

The rule

An adjective before a noun takes an ending in German. The ending depends on the article, the noun’s gender and its role in the sentence. Compare einen roten Mantel and eine freundliche Person from the course. After der in the basic case you often hear -e; after ein with a masculine noun, you hear -er. The table only shows nominative and accusative so you can practise these first patterns safely.

Remember: An adjective before a noun needs a suitable ending.

Goes with lesson 10, 18, 24 of the course.

What differs for you

English adjectives normally keep the same form before a noun, so “red” does not change with the article. German adjectives before nouns do change: “einen roten Mantel” but “eine freundliche Person”. The ending depends on the German article, gender and role in the sentence. Read the whole noun group before choosing the adjective’s last letters.

The forms

Adjective endings: nominative and accusative

Fall	Genus	bestimmt	unbestimmt
Nominativ	m	der gute Tag	ein guter Tag
Nominativ	f	die gute Frau	eine gute Frau
Nominativ	n	das gute Haus	ein gutes Haus
Akkusativ	m	den guten Tag	einen guten Tag
Akkusativ	f	die gute Frau	eine gute Frau
Akkusativ	n	das gute Haus	ein gutes Haus

Common mistakes

*ein gute Tag → ein guter Tag.
*einen rote Mantel → einen roten Mantel.

Quick check

Der klein___ Junge spielt.
Insert the correct adjective ending.
Answer
kleine — After 'der' (nom. masc.): -e
Ich trinke ein kalt___ Bier.
Choose the correct form.
1. kalte
2. kalter
3. kaltes
4. kalten
Answer
kaltes — After 'ein' (nom. neuter): -es
Sie kauft den rot___ Pullover.
Insert the correct adjective ending.
Answer
roten — Acc. masculine after 'den': -en
Das ist eine schönes Blume.
Correct the mistake.
Answer
Das ist eine schöne Blume. — After 'eine' (nom. fem.): -e
Die neu___ Bücher sind interessant.
Choose the correct form.
1. neue
2. neuen
3. neuer
4. neues
Answer
neuen — Plural after 'die': -en
Er ist ein gut___ Lehrer.
Insert the correct adjective ending.
Answer
guter — After 'ein' (nom. masc.): -er

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Terms

Adjective: A word that describes a quality: a big house.
Declension: A word changes form according to its role in a sentence: he, him.
Nominative: The form for who or what does the action: She sleeps.
Accusative: The form for who or what an action directly affects: I see him.

BeforeKönnen, müssen and wollen AfterIn, auf, unter: place or direction

Word classes

Der, die, das and ein, eine A1Why do different words appear before nouns?→Nouns, verbs and adjectives A1What do “Suppe”, “spiele” and “groß” tell you?→Plural nouns A1What changes in “Brüder” and “Kinder”?→Personal pronouns A1Personal pronouns replace nouns and indicate the person.→Groß, größer, am größten A2What does “am liebsten” mean compared with “gern”?→Mein, dein, sein: whose is it? A2Whose passport does “Ihren Reisepass” refer to?→

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