Putting It Together
German Grammar 1
Chapter 11 · Putting It Together
🧱 Putting It Together — Alles zusammen
You now have every piece of the German noun phrase: the sounds (German Grammar 1 1), gender and plurals (German Grammar 1 2 and 3), the four cases (German Grammar 1 4 to 8) and the adjective endings (German Grammar 1 9 and 10). This last chapter puts them in one order, gives you one procedure to run on any noun phrase, and ends with a clinic of typical mistakes and a recap of the course.
The order of the noun phrase
| Preposition | Article-word | Adjectives | Noun | Genitive phrase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mit | dem | alten | Mann | |
| in | einer | kleinen, warmen | Küche | |
| das | neue | Auto | meines Vaters | |
| für | frische | Brötchen |
The decision procedure
| Step | Question | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gender and number of the noun? | German Grammar 1 2 and 3 (endings, compounds, plural patterns) |
| 2 | Which case? Subject → nominative. Direct object → accusative. Indirect object, or a dative verb or preposition → dative. Possession, or a genitive preposition → genitive. After a two-way preposition ask wo? (dative) or wohin? (accusative). | German Grammar 1 4 to 8 |
| 3 | Article-word form for that gender and case (der-word, ein-word or none). | master table below |
| 4 | Adjective ending: after a der-word the weak -e / -en; after an ein-word the mixed (-er, -es where ein is bare); with no article the strong endings. | German Grammar 1 9 and 10 |
| 5 | Does the noun change? Dative plural -n; genitive -(e)s; weak nouns -(e)n. | German Grammar 1 2, 6 and 8 |
The master tables
The definite article and the der-words
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | den (+ -n) |
| Genitive | des (+ -(e)s) | der | des (+ -(e)s) | der |
The ein-words (ein, kein, mein …)
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein | keine |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein | keine |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem | keinen (+ -n) |
| Genitive | eines | einer | eines | keiner |
The adjective endings
| after der-words | after ein-words | no article | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -e · -e · -e · -en | -er · -e · -es · -en | -er · -e · -es · -e |
| Accusative | -en · -e · -e · -en | -en · -e · -es · -en | -en · -e · -es · -e |
| Dative | -en · -en · -en · -en | -en · -en · -en · -en | -em · -er · -em · -en |
| Genitive | -en · -en · -en · -en | -en · -en · -en · -en | -en · -er · -en · -er |
Read each row as masculine · feminine · neuter · plural.
A worked example
Build in German: I am giving the little daughter of my old neighbour a new book. The sentence: Ich gebe der kleinen Tochter meines alten Nachbarn ein neues Buch.
| Phrase | Job | Gender, case | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| the little daughter | who receives (indirect object) | feminine, dative | der kleinen Tochter (der-word, -en) |
| of my old neighbour | belongs to the daughter | masculine, genitive; weak noun | meines alten Nachbarn (-es, -en, noun adds -n) |
| a new book | the thing given (direct object) | neuter, accusative | ein neues Buch (bare ein, so -es) |
🗣️ In Use — Im Gebrauch
The whole noun phrase in real sentences. Read each exchange aloud and name the case of every phrase.
① A photograph
② A big house
③ A present
🩺 Error Clinic — Fehlerklinik
Each sentence has one mistake. Find it, say why it is wrong, and correct it. Then click to check.
1. Ich sehe der Mann.
Show answer
Ich sehe den Mann. The direct object is accusative, and the masculine changes to den.
2. Ich helfe meinen Bruder.
Show answer
Ich helfe meinem Bruder. Helfen takes the dative.
3. Er geht in der Küche. (He goes into the kitchen.)
Show answer
Er geht in die Küche. Movement to a new place (wohin?) takes the accusative.
4. Das ist ein gute Mann.
Show answer
Das ist ein guter Mann. Bare ein in the masculine nominative: the adjective carries -er.
5. Sie spielt mit den Kinder.
Show answer
Sie spielt mit den Kindern. The dative plural noun takes -n.
6. Wegen dem Regen bleiben wir zu Hause. (a careful written text)
Show answer
Wegen des Regens bleiben wir zu Hause. Wegen takes the genitive in careful writing; the dative is only heard in speech.
7. Er ist größer wie ich.
Show answer
Er ist größer als ich. Use als after a comparative; wie is for equality.
8. Ich kaufe ein neuer Mantel.
Show answer
Ich kaufe einen neuen Mantel. Accusative masculine: einen and -en.
✏️ Try It Yourself — Übungen
Fill in the missing endings, then click to check.
1. Ich sehe d___ alt___ Mann.
Show answer
den alten Mann: accusative masculine, weak ending.
2. Er hilft sein___ klein___ Schwester.
Show answer
seiner kleinen Schwester: dative feminine.
3. Das ist das Auto mein___ neu___ Nachbar___.
Show answer
meines neuen Nachbarn: genitive masculine; Nachbar is a weak noun.
4. Wir gehen in d___ groß___ Park.
Show answer
in den großen Park: movement, so accusative.
5. Das ist ein schön___ Haus.
Show answer
ein schönes Haus: bare ein before a neuter noun, so -es.
6. Ich esse frisch___ Brot ohne kalt___ Butter.
Show answer
frisches Brot ohne kalte Butter: no article, so strong endings (neuter accusative -es, feminine accusative -e).
7. Say "the biggest cities".
Show answer
die größten Städte
8. Say "because of the bad weather".
Show answer
wegen des schlechten Wetters
🏁 Course Complete — Geschafft!
You have finished German Grammar 1. Here is what the eleven chapters gave you.
| Chapters | What you can now do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Read German aloud with the right sounds (umlauts, ß, ch, sp-/st-, ei/ie) and understand final devoicing. |
| 2–3 | Assign gender from endings and compounds, spot the weak nouns, and form plurals with the five patterns. |
| 4–6 | Use the nominative, accusative and dative with articles, possessives, pronouns, verbs and prepositions. |
| 7–8 | Choose the case after the nine two-way prepositions (wo? or wohin?) and use the genitive. |
| 9–10 | Put the right ending on any adjective, and compare with -er, am -sten, so … wie and … als. |
| 11 | Run one procedure on any noun phrase and correct typical mistakes. |