When an adjective comes directly before a noun, it must take special endings (Adjektivendungen) that match the gender, case, and number of the noun, also known as declension. These endings help show the grammatical relationships in the sentence.
The specific ending an adjective takes depends on three factors:
- What comes before the adjective (definite article, indefinite article, or no article)
- The gender of the noun (masculine, feminine, neuter)
- The case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive)
Examples:
- With definite article: Der große Hund schläft.
- With indefinite article: Ein großer Hund schläft.
Notice how the same adjective (groß) has different endings depending on what comes before it. This is the key to German adjective declension!
The Three Declension Types
German has three main patterns for adjective endings, called declension types:
- Weak Declension - with definite articles (der, die, das)
- Mixed Declension - with indefinite articles (ein, eine, ein) and possessive determiners (mein, dein, sein, etc.)
- Strong Declension - without any article
1. Weak Declension (With Definite Articles)
When using adjectives with definite articles (der, die, das) or words that decline like them (dieser, jener, jeder, welcher, alle), the adjective takes mostly -e and -en endings.
Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
Nominative | der gute Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | die guten Leute |
Accusative | den guten Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | die guten Leute |
Dative | dem guten Mann | der guten Frau | dem guten Kind | den guten Leuten |
Genitive | des guten Mannes | der guten Frau | des guten Kindes | der guten Leute |
Why "weak"? The definite article already shows the gender and case clearly, so the adjective ending is "weak" - it doesn't need to do much work. Just add -e or -en!
Simple Pattern:
- Add -e in: nominative singular (all genders) and accusative singular (feminine & neuter)
- Add -en everywhere else
Examples:
Der kleine Hund bellt. | (Nominative, Masculine) |
Ich sehe den kleinen Hund. | (Accusative, Masculine) |
Die schöne Blume blüht. | (Nominative, Feminine) |
Die Farbe des neuen Autos ist schön. | (Genitive, Neuter) |
Ich helfe dem alten Mann. | (Dative, Masculine) |
Ich sehe die großen Häuser. | (Accusative, Plural) |
2. Mixed Declension (With Indefinite Articles)
When using adjectives with indefinite articles (ein, eine, ein), the negative article (kein), or possessive determiners (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr, Ihr), the adjective takes a mix of strong and weak endings.
Mixed Declension Table
Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
Nominative | ein guter Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind | keine guten Leute |
Accusative | einen guten Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind | keine guten Leute |
Dative | einem guten Mann | einer guten Frau | einem guten Kind | keinen guten Leuten |
Genitive | eines guten Mannes | einer guten Frau | eines guten Kindes | keiner guten Leute |
Why "mixed"? The indefinite article and possessive words don't always show the gender clearly (especially in nominative and accusative), so sometimes the adjective needs a stronger ending to help out.
Pattern Recognition:
- Nominative singular masculine: -er (ein guter Mann)
- Nominative & accusative singular neuter: -es (ein gutes Kind)
- All other cases: -en or -e (following the weak pattern)
Examples:
Ein junger Mann wartet. | (Nominative, Masculine) |
Ich habe einen jungen Hund. | (Accusative, Masculine) |
Das ist meine neue Tasche. | (Nominative, Feminine) |
Die Reparatur seines alten Autos ist teuer. | (Genitive, Neuter) |
Ich spreche mit meinem besten Freund. | (Dative, Masculine) |
Mit keinen guten Ideen komme ich weiter. | (Dative, Plural) |
3. Strong Declension (Without Articles)
When there is no article before the adjective, the adjective must take strong endings that clearly show the gender and case of the noun. This happens with:
- Plural nouns without articles
- Uncountable nouns (like Wasser, Milch, Brot)
- After numbers (zwei, drei, viele, einige)
- In certain fixed expressions
Strong Declension Table
Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
Nominative | guter Wein | gute Milch | gutes Brot | gute Leute |
Accusative | guten Wein | gute Milch | gutes Brot | gute Leute |
Dative | gutem Wein | guter Milch | gutem Brot | guten Leuten |
Genitive | guten Weines | guter Milch | guten Brotes | guter Leute |
Why "strong"? Without an article, the adjective must be "strong" and do all the work of showing gender and case. The endings look similar to the definite article endings!
Pattern Tip: Compare the strong adjective endings to the definite articles:
- guter Wein (like der Wein)
- gutes Brot (like das Brot)
- gutem Wein (like dem Wein)
The adjective endings mirror the article endings!
Examples:
Guter Wein ist teuer. | (Nominative, Masculine) |
Ich trinke kalte Milch. | (Accusative, Feminine) |
Frisches Brot schmeckt gut. | (Nominative, Neuter) |
Bei schönem Wetter gehen wir spazieren. | (Dative, Neuter) |
Kleine Kinder spielen dort. | (Nominative, Plural) |
Ich helfe alten Menschen. | (Dative, Plural) |
Multiple Adjectives Before a Noun
When you have two or more adjectives in a row before a noun, all adjectives take the same ending:
Der große schwarze Hund | The big black dog |
Ein schöner alter Tisch | A beautiful old table |
Mit gutem frischem Brot | With good fresh bread |
Meine kleine süße Katze | My small sweet cat |