Adjective Endings Demystified
B1The most feared table in German, shrunk to one idea: the ending is a signal that broadcasts gender and case — especially when the article refuses to.
The signal idea
German insists that gender, number and case are always audible somewhere in a noun phrase. If the article already signals them clearly (der, die, den, dem), the adjective can relax with a simple -e or -en. If the article is missing or vague, the adjective must carry the signal itself — that is the entire secret.
Beispiele — examples in context
der gute Wein
the good wine
guter Wein
good wine
ein guter Wein
a good wine
After der-words
der-words (der, dieser, jeder, welcher, alle ...) announce gender and case loudly and clearly. The adjective therefore only ever wears -e in the nominative singular and the feminine/neuter accusative, and -en everywhere else. Two endings instead of sixteen — breathe.
| Kasus | Maskulin | Feminin | Neutrum | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der gute Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | die guten Leute |
| Akkusativ | den guten Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | die guten Leute |
| Dativ | dem guten Mann | der guten Frau | dem guten Kind | den guten Leuten |
| Genitiv | des guten Mannes | der guten Frau | des guten Kindes | der guten Leute |
Beispiele — examples in context
Ich kenne den netten Nachbarn.
I know the friendly neighbor.
Mit dem neuen Auto fahren wir morgen nach Hamburg.
With the new car we're driving to Hamburg tomorrow.
Jeder dritte Student hat einen Nebenjob.
Every third student has a side job.
After ein-words
ein-words (ein, kein, mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr ...) have three blind spots: masculine nominative, neuter nominative and neuter accusative. There 'ein' shows nothing, so the adjective must wear the strong ending it borrowed from the definite article (-er, -es). Everywhere else you can see the case, so the adjective behaves as after der-words.
| Kasus | Maskulin | Feminin | Neutrum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | ein guter Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind |
| Akkusativ | einen guten Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind |
| Dativ | einem guten Mann | einer guten Frau | einem guten Kind |
| Genitiv | eines guten Mannes | einer guten Frau | eines guten Kindes |
Beispiele — examples in context
Ich habe ein neues Handy gekauft.
I bought a new phone.
Mein alter Computer ist langsam.
My old computer is slow.
Er trinkt keinen schwarzen Kaffee.
He doesn't drink black coffee.
No article at all
With no article, the adjective is the only signal-bearer, so it takes the full strong endings — the ones the definite article would have had. You meet these mostly in plurals and generalizations ('fresh vegetables are healthy'), so learn them as the sound of German wisdom.
Beispiele — examples in context
Frisches Gemüse ist gesund.
Fresh vegetables are healthy.
Ich kaufe frisches Brot und teuren Käse.
I'm buying fresh bread and expensive cheese.