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LEKTION 12
Nominative declension
In German, words are declined into four different cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. Every case has a different function in a sentence:
| Nominative |
Subject |
| Accusative |
Direct object |
| Dative |
Indirect object |
| Genitive |
When referring to someone |
When a noun is the subject of a sentence it goes in the nominative case, as does the article or adjective that accompanies it. Adjectives are normally placed in front of the noun:
| Der neue Wagen |
The new car |
| Die alte Frau |
The elder lady |
The adjective changes its ending to be nominative because of the word that precedes it (article, demonstrative pronoun, etc):
a) If the adjective has a definite article in front of it (der, die, das), the adjective ends with "-e" (masculine, feminine and singular neutral) and "en" (plural):
|
| Masculine |
Der kleine Wagen |
The small car |
| Feminine |
Die kleine Katze |
The small cat |
| Neutral |
Das kleine Haus |
The small house |
| Plural |
Die kleinen Kinder |
The small boys |
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b) If it has an indefinite article in front of it (ein, eine, ein), or a possessive pronoun, the adjective ends in "-er" (masculine), "-e" (feminine), "-es" (neutral) and"en" (plural):
|
| Masculine |
Ein kleiner Wagen |
A small car |
| Feminine |
Eine kleine Katze |
A small cat |
| Neutral |
Mein kleines Haus |
My small house |
| Plural |
Meine kleinen Kinder |
My small boys |
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c) If the adjective is not proceded by any word, it ends in "-er" (masculine), "-e" (feminine), "-es" (neutral), and "-e" (plural):
|
| Masculine |
Kleiner Wagen |
Small car |
| Feminine |
Kleine Katze |
Small cat |
| Neutral |
Kleines Haus |
Small house |
| Plural |
Kleine Kinder |
Small boys |
VOCABULARY
| Dog |
Hund (m) |
Wolf |
Wolf (m) |
| Cat |
Katze (f) |
Eagle |
Adler (m) |
| Horse |
Pferd (n) |
Snake |
Schlange (f) |
| Bull |
Stier (m) |
Camel |
Kamel (n) |
| Cow |
Kuh (f) |
Hippopotamus |
Nilpferd (n) |
| Sheep |
Schaf (n) |
Rhinocerous |
Nashorn (n) |
| Goat |
Ziege (f) |
Panther |
Panther (m) |
| Fox |
Fuchs (m) |
Shark |
Haifisch (m) |
| Pig |
Schwein (n) |
Whale |
Walfisch (m) |
| Elephant |
Elefant (m) |
Tiger |
Tiger (m) |
| Lion |
Löwe (m) |
Bear |
Bär (m) |
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