## Definite Articles | | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | | ---------- | --------- | -------- | ------ | ------ | | Nominative | der | die | das | die | | Accusative | den | die | das | die | | Dative | dem | der | dem | den | | Genitive | des | der | des | der | ## Indefinite Articles | | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | | ---------- | --------- | -------- | ------ | | Nominative | ein | eine | ein | | Accusative | einen | eine | ein | | Dative | einem | einer | einem | | Genitive | eines | einer | eines | ## Adjectival Pronouns Certain adjectival pronouns also decline like der: all-, dies-, jed-, jen-, manch-, solch-, welch-. These are called der-words (Der-Wort). | | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | | ---------- | --------- | -------- | ------ | ------ | | Nominative | dieser | diese | dieses | diese | | Accusative | diesen | diese | dieses | diese | | Dative | diesem | dieser | diesem | diesen | | Genitive | dieses | dieser | dieses | dieser | ## Possessive Pronouns Adjectival possessive pronouns (or possessive determiners) and **kein** decline similarly to the article ein. The general declension pattern is as shown in the following table: | | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | | ---------- | --------- | -------- | ------ | ------ | | Nominative | dein | deine | dein | deine | | Accusative | deinen | deine | dein | deine | | Dative | deinem | deiner | deinem | deinen | | Genitive | deines | deiner | deines | deiner | ## Interogative Pronouns ## Relative Pronouns ## Adjectives ### Strong Strong adjective declension is used when: 1. there is no preceding article; or 2. the preceding article does not fully indicate the case, gender, and number of the noun. | | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | | ---------- | --------- | -------- | ------ | ------ | | Nominative | -er | -e | -es | -e | | Accusative | -en | -e | -es | -e | | Dative | -em | -er | -em | -en | | Genitive | -en | -er | -en | -er | ### Weak Weak adjective declension is used when the article itself clearly indicates case, gender, and number | | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | | ---------- | --------- | -------- | ------ | ------ | | Nominative | -e | -e | -e | -en | | Accusative | -en | -e | -e | -en | | Dative | -en | -en | -en | -en | | Genitive | -en | -en | -en | -en | ### Mixed Mixed adjective declension is used when there is a preceding indefinite article (e.g. ein-, kein-), or possessive determiner (mein-, dein-, ihr-, etc.). It is like the weak inflection, but in forms where the weak inflection has the ending -e, the mixed inflection replaces these with the forms of the strong inflection (shown in light blue). | | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | | ---------- | --------- | -------- | ------ | ------ | | Nominative | -er | -e | -es | -en | | Accusative | -en | -e | -es | -en | | Dative | -en | -en | -en | -en | | Genitive | -en | -en | -en | -en | ## Nouns Only the following nouns are declined according to case: - [Masculine weak nouns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_noun#German "Weak noun") gain an _-n_ (sometimes _-en_) at the end in cases other than the singular nominative. e.g. der Student, des Studenten. - A handful of masculine "mixed" nouns, the most common of which is _der Name_ (the name), gain an _-ns_ at the end in the singular genitive, e.g. _der Name_, _des Name**ns**_, and otherwise behave exactly like weak nouns. - The genitive case of other nouns of masculine or neuter gender is formed by adding either _-s_ or _-es_, e.g. _das Bild_, des _Bildes_. - Nouns in plural that do not already end in _-n_ or _-s_ (the latter mostly found in [loanwords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanwords "Loanwords")) gain an _-n_ in the dative case. e.g. _der Berg_, _die Berge_, _den Bergen_. Most of these nouns are either masculine or neuter, but there is a group of feminine nouns that are declined in this way too. While this group comprises only a small minority of feminine nouns, it includes some of the most oft-used nouns in the language. e.g. _die Hand_, _die Hände_, _den Händen_. - The irregular neuter noun _das Herz_ behaves almost exactly like the masculine "mixed" nouns, except that it is not inflected in the singular accusative and inflection in the singular dative is optional especially in spoken German, e.g. _das Herz_, _das Herz_, _dem Herzen_ or _dem Herz_, _des Herzens_. There is a dative singular marking _-e_ associated with strong masculine or neuter nouns, e.g. _der Tod_ and _das Bad_, but this is rarely regarded as a required ending in contemporary usage, with the exception of fossilized phrases, such as _zum Tode verurteilt_ ("sentenced to death"), or titles of creative works, e.g. _Venus im Bade_ ("Venus in the Bath"): In these cases, the omission of the ending would be unusual. It also retains a certain level of productivity in poetry and music where it may be used to help with meter and rhyme, as well as in extremely elevated prose (such as might be found on memorial plaques).