Negation with 'kein' (masculine/neuter)
Negation mit 'kein' (maskulin/neutrum)
'' negates masculine and neuter nouns in the : kein Hund, kein Auto.
Structure
kein + maskulines/neutrales Nomen (Nominativ)
kein + masculine/neuter noun (nominative)
Details
- Part of Speech
- Article
- Word Type
- Negative article
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
German uses kein to negate a that would otherwise take ein or no at all. Where English says not a or no, German says kein. Use nicht instead for verbs, adjectives, or nouns with a definite (der/die/das).
For masculine and neuter nouns, the base form is kein:
- Nominative ( or after sein): Das ist kein Hund. / Kein Mann ist hier.
- Neuter accusative (): Ich habe kein Auto. / Er hat kein Geld.
- Neuter stays kein in every position, so you can use it freely as or .
Watch out: a masculine noun in the accusative becomes keinen, not kein (Ich habe keinen Hund.). That is a separate card, so here masculine nouns appear only as subjects or after sein.
Common mistake: Do not say Ich habe nicht ein Auto. Use Ich habe kein Auto. - kein already contains the .
About Negation with 'kein' (masculine/neuter)
'' negates masculine and neuter nouns in the : kein Hund, kein Auto.
Same form as 'ein' for masculine and neuter; used for nouns, not verbs.
'' verneint maskuline und neutrale im : kein Hund, kein Auto.
Caution
Masculine and neuter share the bare 'kein' in the nominative - like 'ein'. It negates a noun that would otherwise have 'ein' or no article.