A noun is a part of speech that changes according to cases, i.e. it is declined. There are four cases in German:

• Nominativ - answers the question - who? What? (wer? was?)
• Genitiv - answers the question - whose, whose? whose, whose? whom? what? (wessen?)
• Dativ - answers the question - to whom? (wem?)
• Akkusativ - answers the question - who? What? (wen? was?)

In German, case endings in nouns are most often absent, and case is indicated by the case form of the article.

Declension of the article in German

Definite article					Indefinite article
Number	Case	Husband. R.	Wed. R	Women R.	Husband. R.	Wed. R.	Women R.
Unit h.	Nominative	der	das	die	ein		eine
	Genitiv	des		der	eines		einer
	Dativ	dem		der	einem		einer
	Akkusativ	den	das	die	einen	ein	eine
Multil. h.	Nominative	die			Absent
	Genitiv	der
	Dativ	den
	Akkusativ	die

Depending on the case endings of singular nouns, three types of noun declension are distinguished:

• strong declination,
• weak declination,
• Declension of feminine nouns.

Strong declension of nouns in German

The strong declension includes most masculine nouns, as well as all neuter nouns.

Nominative	der (ein) Schauspieler	der Tisch	das (ein) Mittel	das Buch
Genitiv	des (eines) Schauspielers	des Tisches	des (eines) Mittels	des Buches
Dativ	dem (einem) Schauspieler	dem Tisch	dem (einem) Mittel	dem Buch
Akkusativ	den (einen) Schauspieler	den Tisch	das (ein) Mittel	das Buch

From the table above it is clear that a strong declination is characterized by the end -(e)s in Genitiv. Moreover, nouns ending in -s, -?, -sch, -z, -tz, get the ending -es in Genitiv. Nouns ending in -е, -er, -el, -en, -chen, -lein, -ling, -ig, -ich, as well as most polysyllabic endings in Genitiv -s.

Weak declension of nouns in German

A small group of masculine nouns denoting animate objects belongs to the weak declension.

• Nouns ending in -e:
  der Junge (boy), der Russe (Russian), der Lowe (lion), der Hase (hare);
• nouns der Mensch (man), der Held (hero), der Bauer* (peasant), der Graf (count), der Nachbar* (neighbor), der Herr (lord), der Hirt (shepherd), der Ochs (ox) , der Bar (bear), der Narr (fool);
• foreign words with suffixes -ist, -ent, -ant, -at, -soph, -nom, -graph, -log(e):
  der Komponist, der Assistent, der Praktikant, der Kandidat, der Diplomat, der Philosopher,
  der Soldat, der Agronom, der Photograph, der Philolog(e).

In all cases, except Nominativ singular, weak declension nouns take a case ending -(e)n.

Nominative	der (ein) Junge	der (ein) Mensch
Genitiv	des (eines) Jungen	des (eines) Menschen
Dativ	dem (einem) Jungen	dem (einem) Menschen
Akkusativ	den (einen) Jungen	den (einen) Menschen

Nouns that end in -e, as well as der Herr, der Bauer, der Nachbar, receive the ending -n, the rest - the ending -en.

Declension of feminine nouns in German

Feminine nouns do not take singular case endings, and the case is indicated by the form of the article.

This group includes:

• der Name, der Gedanke, der Same, der Wille, der Glaube, der Buchstabe, der Friede,
  der Funke, der Schade, der Fels.

Also in special cases is the declension of the noun das Herz. The noun das Herz is declined as follows:

Nominative	das Herz
Genitiv	des Herzens
Dativ	dem Herzen
Akkusativ	das Herz

The declension type of a noun is easy to determine using a dictionary.

For example: Stuhl m-(e)s, ?-e; m determines the gender of the noun - masculine. Ending -(e)s indicates the Genitiv singular form of this noun - des Stuhl (e)s, thus, the noun belongs to the strong declension.

Another example: Student m-en, -en. Here the first -en indicates that the Genitiv form of this noun is Studenten, so the noun is a weak declension.

Special cases of declension of nouns are shown similarly in the dictionary.

Declension of German nouns in the plural

All plural nouns are inflected the same way, taking the case ending -n in the dative case, with the exception of nouns that receive a plural suffix -(e)n or -s.

Declension of proper names in German

• Proper names take endings -s in Genitiv singular:
  Goethe s Gedichte (Goethe's poems); Anna s Vater (Anna's father).
• Names of persons ending in -s, -x and –z, accept the ending –ens:
  Sachsens Werke (works by Sachs).
  Often in these words the ending is completely omitted and replaced with an apostrophe:
  Claus’ Auto (Claus’s car). Proper names denoting geographical names and ending in -s, -x, -z, do not receive any ending:
  der Gipfel des Elbrus (peak of Elbrus).
• Female names on -ie have a singular ending in Genitiv -s or -ns:
  Marie ns(Marie s) Freund (Maria's friend).
• The genitive case can be replaced by a construction with a preposition von:
  Peter s Buch = das Buch von Peter,
  die Straßen Munchen s= die Stra?en von Munchen (streets of Munich).
• A proper name is usually not declined if it is preceded by an article with a definition:

• If a proper name is preceded by a common noun expressing title, rank, position, etc., then two cases are possible:

• When there is an article, only the common noun is declined:

• Without an article, only the proper noun is declined, and the common noun remains unchanged:
  die Regierungszeit Konig Ludwigs
  die Vorlesung Professor Mullers.

• If the first and last names are indicated, then only the last name is declined:
  die Werke Patrick Suskinds (works by Patrick Suskind).

Declension is a change in the form of a noun by person, case and gender. Declension of nouns in German occurs by changing the article and ending of nouns with different numbers, which change according to cases.
language occurs in four cases:

There are three main types of declinations:
strong, weak and feminine
You can also separately distinguish the declension of nouns with a plural form. Moreover, each type of declination has a number of its own features that are necessary for memorization. Let's look at them in order.
1. Strong declination
Some nouns that have a masculine gender, as well as all nouns that have a neuter gender, are declined according to strong inflection. The exception is the word das Herz (heart), which is inflected in a completely separate way.
The table below shows the declension of the nouns der Tisch and das Mädchen.
Nominativ der Tisch das Mädchen
Genitiv des Tiches des Mädchens
Dativ dem Tisch dem Mädchen
Akkusativ den Tisch das Mädchen
The main feature of the strong declension is that all nouns of this declension, being in Genitiv, have a special ending “(e)s”.
Ich habe die Zeitschrift auf das Sofa gelegt..
Das Kleid des Mädchens ist blau.

This declension includes all other masculine nouns, or rather, those animate nouns with a masculine gender that end in “e”. Including a separate group of animate nouns whose nouns are masculine and have lost their "e" vowel. They also include nouns of foreign origin that end in special stressed suffixes: ant, ent, ist, not, log, at, et, etc.


Das kleine Kind hat Angst vor dem Elefanten.
As can be seen from the table, a feature of the weak declension is “en” in three cases except the nominative case.

3. Feminine declension
As is clear from the name of this declension, only all nouns that have a feminine gender are declined according to it.
Nominativ die Liebe die Tasse
Genitiv der Liebe der Tasse
Dativ der Liebe der Tasse
Akkusativ die Liebe die Tasse
Diese Geschichte spricht die starke Liebe.
The special ease of the feminine declension is that the nouns themselves remain unchanged, and only the article changes.

A fourth type of declension can be distinguished, the so-called mixed declension. The word das Herz (heart), which is an exception to the weak declension group, and some other words presented in the following table are inclined according to it.



Diese Sache hat keinen Nahmen.
The peculiarity of mixed declination is the presence of signs of strong and weak declination. For nouns of mixed declension, as in the strong declension, “(e)s” appears in the Genitiv, and as in the weak declension, “en” appears in three cases with the exception of the nominative case.
In addition to declensions in the singular, there is also a declination of nouns that are presented in the plural.


A special feature is the appearance of the plural ending “en” in the dative case.

Adjectives in German are declined if and only if they come before a noun:

Krasn th table - rot er Tisch
red wow stolU - rot em Tisch

There are three types of adjective declension:

1. Strong declination.
2. Weak declination.
3. Mixed declension.

How can one understand which type of adjective is inclined in a particular case?

1. If an adjective comes before a noun without an accompanying word, then it is inflected according to the strong type.
2. If there is an accompanying word, but it ambiguously shows gender, number and case, then the adjective is declined according to the mixed type.
3. If there is an accompanying word and it clearly shows gender, number and case, then the adjective is declined according to the weak type.

Strong declination

IMPORTANT!
In the plural, the words: Viele (many), Einige (several), Wenige (few), Zweie, dreie usw (two, three, etc.) acquire a generic/case ending and do not affect the ending of the adjective ( both parts of speech end with the definite article):

Viel e gut e Eltern (Nom.) - many good parents
Viel e gut e Eltern (Akk.) - many good parents
Wenig en gut en Eltern (Dat.) - to few good parents
Einig er gut er Eltern (Gen.) - some good parents

Weak declension of adjectives

IMPORTANT!

1. In the plural, after the words alle (all), sämtliche (meaning alle) and beide (both) in all cases, adjectives have a neutral ending<-en>, while alle and beide also receive a case plural ending (the ending of the definite article).

Alle mein en Freunde (Nom.)
Alle dein en Freunde (Akk.)
All en dein en Freunde (Dat.)
All er sein en Freunden (Gen.)

2. The definite article, demonstrative pronoun and interrogative pronoun are mutually exclusive parts of speech and are not used simultaneously with the same noun:

Der gute Vater - Diese gute Mutter (correct)
Der dieser gute Vater - Jede die gute Mutter ( Not Right)

3. Different parts of speech can act as an accompanying word, but all of them clearly show the gender and number of the noun already in Nominativ.

NOTE!
In compound demonstrative pronouns (derselbe, derjenige...) the definite article is merged with the demonstrative word, which means both parts of the word are declined. In this case, the article part is declined as a definite article, and the adjective part as an adjective:

D er selb e gut e Film - the same good film
D ie selb en gut en Filme - the same good films

Mixed declension

IMPORTANT!
In the plural, the indefinite article EIN is not used.

Declension of homogeneous adjectives

Homogeneous adjectives standing in front of a noun are declined in the same way:

Ein klein es neu es Haus / Das klein e neu e Haus
Klein e neu e Hauser/Die klein en neu en Hauser

Declension of compound adjectives

When an adjective consists of several (it is a multi-root or compound word), the ending is placed only at the end of the word:

Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlich es Thema - strong declension
das mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlich e Thema - weak declension
ein mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlich es Thema - mixed declension

Declension of adjectives before substantivized adjectives

If in a sentence the adjective name describes a substantivized adjective (Der Deutsche, Die Kranke, Die Verwandten), then the ending of the definition is selected according to the general rule: either the adjective itself (definition) or the word accompanying it must determine the gender, number and case of the noun. Gender, number and case are shown once in a phrase. In this case, the substantivized adjective receives neutral endings<-е>or<-еn>:

Der Kranke - sick
Der arm e Krank e- poor patient
Ein e arm e Krank e- (some) poor patient
ein es arm en Krank en(Genitiv, “Whose?”) - one poor patient (m.r.)
ein er arm en Krank en(Genitiv, “Whose?”) - one poor patient (f.)

Exception! Singular Dativ. If the gender shows an adjective (that is, we have a strong declension), then the substantivized form will have a neutral ending:

Declension is the change of parts of speech by cases and numbers. In German, nouns, articles, pronouns, and adjectives are declined according to cases (if they appear before the noun).

Important!

Master the topic " Declension"Knowledge will help cases in German. Unlike the Russian language, in German there are only four cases: Nominative (Nominativ), Genitive (Genetiv), Dative (Dativ), Accusative (Akkusativ).

Nominative	Wer? (who) Was? (What)
	Wessen? (whose)
	Wem? (to whom) Wo? (where) Wann? (when) Wie? (How)
Akkusativ	Wen? (who) Was? (what) Wohin? (Where)

Declension of adjectives in German

The method of declension of adjectives is closely related to the article. The presence or absence of an article before the adjective, as well as its type (definite or indefinite), determines what type of inflection the adjective will take - strong, weak or mixed.

Declension of adjectives
• Strong declination
• Weak declination
• Mixed declension

Gender, number, case are shown in a phrase only once (or with an accompanying word - article, numeral, or adjective)!

As can be seen from the table, with a strong declension, the adjective receives the gender/case ending of the definite article. Exception: Genetiv singular masculine and neuter. In this form the adjective ends in -en.

Weak declension of adjectives

In Nominativ units. h. (all genders) and Akkusativ singular. (except m.r.) the adjective receives an ending -e, in all other cases singular and plural - en.

	Der gut e	Das gut e	Die gut e	Die gut en
	Des gut en	Des gut en	Der gut en	Der gut en
	Dem gut en	Dem gut en	Der gut en	Den gut en
	Den gut en	Das gut e	Die gut e	Die gut en
	Vater good father	Kind good child	Mutter good mom	Eltern good parents

Mixed declension of adjectives

A sign of mixed declension of adjectives can be not only the indefinite article ein/eine, but also possessive pronouns ( mein, dein etc.), as well as a negative pronoun kein/ keine. If gender, number and case can be determined from the accompanying word (article, pronoun), the adjective is declined according to the weak type. If number, gender and case cannot be determined, use the strong one.

Ein guter Vater (good father, Im.p.)
By the article ein (can be either in the m.r. or in the w.r.n.) it is impossible to understand what gender the noun Vater belongs to. Therefore, the generic ending -er receives in this case the adjective guter. Strong declination.

Meinen guten Vater (my good father, V. p.)
Using the possessive pronoun meinen, you can determine the gender, number and case of the noun Vater. In this case, the adjective guten ends in -en and is inflected weakly.

We looked at the declensions of adjectives in German. The specifics of the declension of German nouns are presented in the table:

Declension of nouns in German

Gen. / kind.p.	-s des Vater s	-s des Kind es
Dat./dat.p.				-n den Bücher n
Akk. /vin.p.

In the genitive case, masculine and neuter, an ending is added to the noun -s, in the dative plural the ending is added -n. In other cases, the noun remains unchanged. The exception is weak nouns.

Declension of weak nouns

Masculine nouns that receive the plural ending - (e)n. The same ending is characteristic of all singular cases, except the nominative. These nouns include:

1. Words starting with -e (der Junge - boy);
2. Words with Latin or Greek suffixes denoting the type of activity (der Student - student);
3. Some inanimate nouns of foreign origin (der Automat - machine gun);
4. A few German words that require memorization (der Mensch - man, der Nachbar - neighbor, etc.)

	Sg. / unit	Pl. / plural
No. / Name	Der Student (student)	Die Student en
Gen. / R.p.	Des Student en	Der Student en
Dat. / D.p.	Dem Student en	Den Student en
Akk. / V.p.	Den Student en	Die Student en

Today we will look at another “similarity” between the Russian and German languages ​​- declination. We remember that in Russian there are three types of declension: 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There are also three types of declension in German: strong declination(die starke Deklination), weak declination(die schwache Deklination) and feminine declension(die weibliche Deklination).

TO strong type declinations include most nouns are masculine And all neuter nouns, other than a noun das Herz - heart. The main sign of a strong declination is the ending –(e)s in the genitive case:

Nominativeder Vater das Fenster;

Genetivdes Vaters des Fensters;

Dativdem Vater dem Fenster;

Akkusativden Vater das Fenster.

Ending –s in the genitive case it is typical for polysyllabic nouns:

Nominative Genetiv

der Garten - garden des Gartens - garden

das Messer - knife des Messers - knife

Ending –es acquire monosyllabic nouns:

Nominative Genetiv

der Hund - dog des Hundes - dogs

das Buch - book des Buches - books

and nouns ending in -s, -ß, -x, -z, -tz:

Nominative Genetiv

das Glas - glass des Glases - glass

der Fluß - river des Flußes - rivers

der Suffix - suffix des Suffixes - suffix

der Schmerz - pain des Schmerzes - pain

das Gesetz - law des Gesetzes - law

TO weak declension apply only animate nouns, masculine gender. The main sign of a weak declination is the ending –(e)n in all indirect cases:

A) nouns with endings –e

der Knabe-boy, der Affe- monkey, der Neffe- nephew, der Hase- hare;

b) monosyllabic nouns

der Bär- bear, der Furst- prince, der Herr- sir, der Ochs- bull, der Spatz- sparrow, der Zar - tsar;

V) nouns of foreign origin with drums suffixes –ant, -at, -ent, -et, -graph(-graf), -ist, -it, -ot

der Aspirsnt-graduate student, der Diplomant-diplomat, der Student- student, der Atlet– athlete, der Fotograf- photographer, der Pianist– pianist, der Favorit– favorite, der Patriot– patriot.

Feminine declension speaks for itself: everyone belongs to this type of declension feminine nouns. The main feature of this type of declension is lack of ending in all cases:

Nominativedie Tür die Frau die Schulbank;

Genetiv

Dativder Tür der Frau der Schulbank;

Akkusativdie Tür die Frau die Schulbank.

And the last thing - mixed type of declension. This type of declension includes eight masculine nouns And singular neuter noun das Herz. This type of declination is characterized by the ending –es in the genitive case (strong declension) and –en in the dative and accusative cases (weak declension):

der Name- Name der Buchstabe– letter

der Same– seed der Friede- world

der Wille– will der Funke– spark

der Gedanke- thought der Fels– rock

das Herz– hearts

Nominativeder Name das Herz

Genetivdes Namens des Herzens

Dativdem Namen dem Herzen

Akkusativden Namen das Herz

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