Grammatical genderGenus
A noun's grammatical gender: masculine, feminine or neuter.
Every German noun has a fixed gender: masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das). Important: grammatical gender is not the same as natural gender - “das Mädchen” (the girl) is neuter, “der Löffel” (the spoon) is masculine. Gender is therefore often unpredictable and should always be learned together with the article. But there are clues: endings like -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tion are feminine; -chen and -lein are neuter; -er for people and many weather/season words are masculine. Gender determines the form of the article, the adjective ending and the pronoun, and is thus decisive for the whole declension.
- der Mann, die Frau, das Kind - the man, the woman, the child
- das Mädchen (trotz natürlichem Geschlecht neutral) - the girl (neuter despite natural gender)
NumberNumerus
Number: singular (one) or plural (more than one).
Number indicates whether we are talking about one (singular) or several (plural). Plural formation is especially irregular in German: there are five main patterns - ending -e (Tisch → Tische), -er (Kind → Kinder), -(e)n (Frau → Frauen), -s (Auto → Autos) or no ending at all (Lehrer → Lehrer) - and an umlaut is often added (Mutter → Mütter). In the definite article all plurals share one form: “die”. Because the plural cannot be reliably predicted, it is best learned together with the noun and its article.
- das Kind → die Kinder - the child → the children
- die Mutter → die Mütter - the mother → the mothers
CaseKasus (Fall)
The case of a noun - nominative, accusative, dative or genitive.
Case shows the grammatical function of a noun in a sentence - whether it is the subject, an object, or a possessor. German has four cases: nominative (subject), accusative (usually the direct object), dative (usually the indirect object) and genitive (possession). Which case is needed is determined by the verb, a preposition, or the sentence function. Important to know: the noun itself rarely changes; the case is almost always shown by the article and the adjective ending (“der Mann, den Mann, dem Mann, des Mannes”). That is why the small article and ending tables are the key to the whole system.
- der Mann, den Mann, dem Mann, des Mannes - the man (nom., acc., dat., gen.)
TenseTempus
The verb's tense - it locates the event in time.
Tense (Tempus) is the grammatical umbrella term for the time forms of the verb; they say when something happens - in the present, past or future. German has six tenses: present and future I for present/future, plus three past forms (perfect, simple past, past perfect) and the rarely used future II. In practice only a few matter: the present also covers much of the future, in speech the past is told almost always with the perfect, and in writing with the simple past. Tense is one of several properties fixed during conjugation - alongside person, number, mood and voice.
- ich lerne – ich lernte – ich habe gelernt - I learn – I learned – I have learned
MoodModus
The verb's mood: indicative, subjunctive or imperative.
Mood (Modus) shows how the speaker views an action - as a fact, a possibility, or a command. German has three moods: the indicative for real statements and questions (Er kommt - he is coming), the subjunctive for the unreal, wishes, politeness and reported speech (Er käme - he would come; Er sagt, er sei krank - he says he is ill) and the imperative for commands and requests (Komm! - come!). Mood is, alongside tense, person, number and voice, one of the properties fixed when conjugating the verb. The indicative is the unmarked default form, learned first.
- Er kommt. / Er käme. / Komm! - He comes. / He would come. / Come!
VoiceGenus Verbi
The verb's voice: active or passive.
Voice (Genus Verbi) describes the perspective from which an action is presented. There are two options: the active, where the subject itself acts and is the focus (Der Mechaniker repariert das Auto - the mechanic repairs the car), and the passive, where the action is foregrounded and the agent is unimportant or unknown (Das Auto wird repariert - the car is being repaired). Voice is not to be confused with the gender of a noun (masculine/feminine/neuter) - it is a property of the verb and, like tense and mood, is set during conjugation.
- Aktiv: Man baut das Haus. / Passiv: Das Haus wird gebaut. - Active: They build the house. / Passive: The house is being built.
ConjugationKonjugation
Inflecting the verb for person, number, tense and mood.
Conjugation is the inflection of the verb - its adaptation to five properties: person and number (ich gehe, du gehst, wir gehen), tense, mood and voice. In the present you attach the personal endings -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en to the verb stem. We distinguish weak (regular) verbs, which follow a fixed pattern and keep their stem (machen → machte → gemacht), from strong (irregular) verbs, which change their stem vowel (sprechen → sprach → gesprochen). There are also irregular mixed verbs and the important auxiliaries sein, haben, werden, which you should memorise first of all.
- ich gehe, du gehst, er geht - I go, you go, he goes
- machen → machte → gemacht - to make → made → made (weak verb)
DeclensionDeklination
Inflecting nouns, articles, adjectives and pronouns for case.
Declension is the inflection of the nominal word classes - nouns, articles, adjectives and pronouns - for case, gender and number. While the noun itself usually barely changes, it is mainly the article and the adjective ending that carry the case information. The adjective ending follows three patterns depending on what precedes it: after a definite article the “weak” ending (der gute Mann - the good man), after an indefinite article/possessive the “mixed” one (ein guter Mann - a good man), and with no article the “strong” ending, which then shows the case itself (guter Wein - good wine). Mastering these tables is the core of German grammar.
- der gute Mann, des guten Mannes - the good man, of the good man
- ein guter Mann / guter Wein - a good man / good wine
Adjective declensionAdjektivdeklination
The endings of attributive adjectives - depending on the preceding article.
When an adjective stands directly before a noun, it takes an ending that depends on three factors: the case and gender/number of the noun, and above all what precedes the adjective. This yields three declension types. The weak declension applies after a definite article (der, dieser, jeder), because that already shows the case - the adjective then almost always ends in -e or -en (der große Mann, mit dem großen Mann). The mixed declension applies after ein-, kein- and the possessives (ein großer Mann). The strong declension applies with no article; then the adjective itself must carry the full case ending (großer Mann, gutes Wetter, kaltem Wasser). Predicatively (after sein, werden), by contrast, the adjective stays without an ending.
- der gute Wein / ein guter Wein / guter Wein - the good wine / a good wine / good wine
- Der Wein ist gut. - The wine is good. (predicative, no ending)
ComparisonSteigerung (Komparation)
The three degrees of the adjective: positive, comparative, superlative.
Comparison (Komparation/Steigerung) expresses different degrees of a quality. There are three degrees: the positive (the base form: schnell - fast), the comparative for comparing two things (schneller - faster, with the comparison word “als”: schneller als ich - faster than me) and the superlative for the highest degree (am schnellsten - fastest, or der/die/das schnellste). The comparative is formed with -er, the superlative with -st-; many short adjectives also take an umlaut (alt → älter → am ältesten - old → older → oldest; groß → größer → am größten). Some very common adjectives are irregular: gut → besser → am besten (good → better → best), viel → mehr → am meisten (much → more → most), gern → lieber → am liebsten, hoch → höher, nah → näher.
- schnell – schneller – am schnellsten - fast – faster – fastest
- Anna ist größer als Tom. - Anna is taller than Tom.
Umlaut
The vowels ä, ö, ü - often carriers of grammatical distinctions.
The term umlaut refers to the vowels ä, ö and ü (and, historically, their origin from a, o, u). In German the umlaut is far more than a spelling variant: it often carries grammatical meaning. Very many nouns form their plural with an umlaut (Mutter → Mütter, Apfel → Äpfel, Haus → Häuser), numerous adjectives take it in comparison (lang → länger), and many strong verbs change their stem vowel to an umlaut in the subjunctive II or the 2nd/3rd person singular (ich fahre → er fährt; ich war → ich wäre). Drop the dots and the meaning can change completely (schon ≠ schön, Mutter ≠ Mütter). Substitute spelling without the umlaut sign: ae, oe, ue.
- der Apfel → die Äpfel - the apple → the apples
- ich fahre, er fährt - I drive, he drives
Eszett (ß)
The letter ß - a voiceless “s” that always signals a long vowel before it.
The Eszett (ß, also “scharfes S”) is a distinct letter of the German alphabet and stands for a voiceless “s” as in “kiss”. Its main job is orthographic: ß appears only after a long vowel or a diphthong (Straße, groß, heißen) and thereby signals its length. After a short vowel you write ss instead (Masse, Fluss, dass). Meaning can hinge on this: “Masse” (short a) vs. “Maße” (long a). ß never appears at the start of a word; a capital version has existed since 2017 (ẞ) but is rarely used - in all-caps text one usually writes SS. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein ß is always replaced by ss.
- die Straße, groß, heißen - the street, big, to be called
- Masse (kurz) ≠ Maße (lang) - mass (short) ≠ measurements (long)
Soft and hard chich-Laut & ach-Laut
The two pronunciations of “ch”: soft [ç] after front vowels, hard [x] after back vowels.
The grapheme “ch” has two pronunciations in German, chosen by the preceding sound (they are allophones). The soft ch [ç] is a gentle fricative like a whispered “h” in “huge”; it occurs after the front vowels e, i, ä, ö, ü and the diphthongs ei, eu/äu, after the consonants l, n, r and in the diminutive ending “-chen” (ich, Milch, euch, Mädchen). The hard ch [x] is a rough fricative far back in the throat as in Scottish “loch”; it occurs after the back vowels a, o, u, au (Bach, Buch, noch, auch). Neither is ever “k” or “tch”. Special case: “chs” is usually pronounced [ks] (Fuchs, sechs, wachsen).
- ich, Milch, Mädchen (ich-Laut) - I, milk, girl (soft ch)
- Bach, Buch, auch (ach-Laut) - brook, book, also (hard ch)
voiced / voicelessstimmhaft / stimmlos
Whether the vocal cords vibrate during a sound (voiced, z/g) or not (voiceless, s/k).
A sound is voiced when the vocal cords vibrate as you produce it (put a hand on your throat - it “buzzes”), and voiceless when they don’t. Consonants often come in such pairs: b/p, d/t, g/k, w/f, s (voiced, as in “Sonne”) / ß, ss (voiceless, as in “Straße”). Important for learners is final devoicing: at the end of a word or syllable, voiced stops are pronounced voiceless - the spelling stays but “Tag” sounds like “Tak”, “Hund” like “Hunt”, “halb” like “halp”. The voicing returns when the word is inflected: “der Tag” [k] → “die Tage” [g].
- Sonne (stimmhaft s) ≠ Straße (stimmloses ß) - Sun (voiced s) ≠ street (voiceless ß)
- Tag → klingt wie „Tak“ - Tag → sounds like “Tak”
Uvular RZäpfchen-R (uvulares R)
The standard R, made at the back uvula - not with the tip of the tongue.
The uvular R ([ʁ]) is the standard pronunciation of German “r” before a vowel. It is formed at the back of the throat at the uvula, usually as a soft fricative resembling a light gargle; the tongue tip stays down. This clearly distinguishes it from the English R (retroflex, with a raised tongue) and from the rolled tongue-tip R that occurs only in some regions (southern Germany, Austria). The R is pronounced consonantally above all at the start of a syllable: rot, Reise, Brot, drei, grün. When r follows a vowel instead, it is usually not consonantal but vocalised (see Vocalic R).
- rot, Brot, drei, grün - red, bread, three, green
- die Reise, die Frage - the trip, the question
Vocalic RVokalisiertes R
An r after a vowel becomes a weak “a” (schwa) - “Vater” sounds like “Fah-ta”.
In German the “r” after a vowel at the end of a syllable or word is usually not a consonant but vocalised: it sounds like a weak, open “a” ([ɐ], a schwa sound) and is almost swallowed. This is especially striking in the common ending “-er”, which sounds like a short “a”: “Vater” = “Fah-ta”, “Mutter” = “Mutt-a”, “besser” = “bess-a”. After a long vowel the hard consonant also disappears: “Uhr”, “Tür”, “mir”, “hier”. It is the counterpart of the consonantal uvular R (before a vowel). For English speakers the vocalic R is the key to avoiding the hard American final R, which instantly stands out as an accent.
- Vater, Mutter, aber - father, mother, but
- die Uhr, die Tür - the clock, the door
Diphthong
A double vowel - two vowels in one syllable (ei, au, eu/äu).
A diphthong is a gliding double vowel: within one syllable you move from one vowel to another. German has three common diphthongs: “ei” (also “ai”) sounds like English “eye” (mein, Mai), “au” like English “ow” in “how” (Haus, blau), and “eu” (also “äu”) like English “oy” in “boy” (neu, Häuser). Important: “ei” is pronounced “eye”, not “ee” - and “ie” is not a diphthong but a long “i” (sie, Liebe). Note that ß never follows a short vowel: for the ß/ss rule, diphthongs count as long (heißen, außen).
- mein, Haus, neu - my, house, new
- ei = „eye“, nicht „ie“ - ei = “eye”, not “ee”
Compound nounsKomposita
Compound words - several words joined into one (Haustür).
Compounds (Komposita) are joined-together words, a particular strength of German: several words are combined without spaces into a single one (Haus + Tür → Haustür - front door). The golden rule: the last element (the base word) determines everything important - the part of speech, gender and plural of the whole compound. “Die Haustür” is feminine because “die Tür” is feminine. The preceding elements (modifiers) only narrow the meaning. Often a linking sound stands between the parts, usually -s- or -n- (Arbeit-s-platz, Straße-n-bahn), which eases pronunciation. In this way arbitrarily long words can be formed (Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft).
- die Hand + der Schuh → der Handschuh - the hand + the shoe → the glove
- das Wort + der Schatz → der Wortschatz - the word + the treasure → the vocabulary
Weak noun declensionN-Deklination
A group of masculine nouns that take -(e)n in every case but the nominative.
The N-declension (weak declension of nouns) affects a small but frequent group of masculine nouns that is a trap for learners. These nouns add the ending -(e)n in every case except the nominative singular - including the accusative and dative, where normally nothing happens (der Junge, den Jungen, dem Jungen, des Jungen). They include many masculine words for people and animals ending in -e (der Kunde - the customer, der Kollege - the colleague, der Löwe - the lion), words like Herr, Mensch, Nachbar, Bauer, and international words ending in -ent, -ant, -ist, -at (der Student, der Polizist, der Präsident). Common error: “Ich sehe den Student” - correct is “den Studenten”.
- Ich kenne den Studenten. - I know the student.
- Wir helfen dem Jungen. - We are helping the boy.
Separable verbsTrennbare Verben
Verbs with a prefix that detaches in the sentence (aufstehen → ich stehe auf).
Separable verbs consist of a base verb and a prefix that stands in front in the infinitive but detaches in the sentence. The key is the stress: separable prefixes are stressed (ÁUFstehen, ÉINkaufen, MÍTkommen) and are usually independent words like auf-, an-, ab-, ein-, mit-, vor-, zu-. In a main clause the prefix moves to the end and forms the sentence bracket with the verb (Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf - I get up at 7). The verb stays together in the infinitive, in subordinate clauses (…, weil ich aufstehe) and in the past participle, where -ge- slides into the middle (aufgestanden). Distinct from these are inseparable verbs with an unstressed prefix (be-, ver-, ent-, er-, ge-), which are never split (verstehen → ich verstehe).
- Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf. - I get up at 7 o'clock.
- Wann kommst du an? - When do you arrive?
Reflexive verbsReflexive Verben
Verbs with a reflexive pronoun (sich), where the action refers back to the subject.
Reflexive verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun (mich, dich, sich, uns, euch, sich) that points back to the subject. There are two types. With true reflexive verbs the pronoun is a fixed, indispensable part of the verb and cannot be replaced (sich freuen - to be glad, sich erinnern - to remember, sich beeilen - to hurry). With non-true reflexive verbs the action just happens to be aimed at the subject but could target another object instead (ich wasche mich - I wash myself / ich wasche das Kind - I wash the child). The reflexive pronoun is usually in the accusative; if there is already an accusative object, it goes into the dative (Ich wasche mir die Hände - I wash my hands). Only in the 3rd person (and with the polite Sie) does the pronoun have its own form “sich”.
- Ich freue mich. - I am glad.
- Ich wasche mir die Hände. - I wash my hands.
