Lesson 23 ª

 

 

 

 

 

   

Different types of declensions

In German, nouns can be declined using three different declensions:

Weak

Strong

Mixed

The basic declensions are the strong and weak declensions.

Those nouns that have some characteristics of the strong and some of the weak are referred to as the mixed declension.

You can work out which declension each noun belongs to by examining the noun's endings.

The strong declension

Neuter, masculine and feminine nouns belong to the strong declension.

The endings of the genitive singular: s / o without ending

The endings of the nominative plural: e / er / s

Here are some examples:

Sg. Nom. der Schrank (m.)
  Gen. des Schrankes
  Dat. dem Schrank
  Acc. den Schrank
Pl. Nom. die Schränke
  Gen. der Schränke
  Dat. den Schränken
  Acc. die Schränke
-    
-    
Sg. Nom. die Frucht (f.)
  Gen. der Frucht
  Dat. der Frucht
  Acc. die Frucht
Pl. Nom. die Früchte
  Gen. der Früchte
  Dat. den Früchten
  Acc. die Früchte
-    
-    
Sg. Nom. das Buch (n)
  Gen. des Buches
  Dat. dem Buch
  Acc. das Buch
Pl. Nom. die Bücher
  Gen. der Bücher
  Dat. den Büchern
  Acc. die Bücher

---------------- oooo O oooo ----------------

Exercises

Decline the following nouns which follow the model of the strong declension:

der Freund / die Kraft / das Schicksal

(Click on the box to see the answers; double click to return to the original position)