Declension
The inflected forms depend on the number, the case and the gender of the corresponding noun. Articles have the same plural forms for all three genders.
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | ein | eine | -eine |
| Accusative | einen | ein | eine | -eine |
| Dative | einem | einem | einer | -einen |
| Genitive | eines | eines | einer | -einer |
- This table declines the indefinite article (ein-), the negative indefinite article (kein-), and the possessive pronouns (mein-, dein-, sein-, ihr-, unser-, euer/eur-).
- The indefinite article does not have a specific plural form (like English, but unlike Italian); there are several article words for this need. In most cases, however, these plural forms are left out. This is quite similar to English.
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | das | die | die |
| Accusative | den | das | die | die |
| Dative | dem | dem | der | den |
| Genitive | des | des | der | der |
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -er | -es | -e | -e |
| Accusative | -en | -es | -e | -e |
| Dative | -em | -em | -er | -en |
| Genitive | -es | -es | -er | -er |
- Note that this is essentially the same as the indefinite article table, but with the masculine nominative -er and the neuter nominative and accusative -es.
- This table declines the demonstrative pronouns (dies-, jen-) (this, that; strong) and the relative pronoun (welch-) (which; strong)
Read more about this topic: German Articles
Famous quotes containing the word declension:
“And what if my descendants lose the flower
Through natural declension of the soul,
Through too much business with the passing hour,
Through too much play, or marriage with a fool?”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“And from the first declension of the flesh
I learnt man’s tongue, to twist the shapes of thoughts
Into the stony idiom of the brain....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)