One of them is called the strong ending, and the other is called the weak ending. For each particular combination of case, number and gender, there are actually two different adjective endings associated with that combination. Indeed, agreement occurs in English, although it is less pervasive than in German, occuring consistently only with finite verbs in the present tense, which take the ending -s when their subject is third-person and singular for example, the verb look appears in two different forms in the two sentences below, because in one of them its subject is third-person or singular, while in the other its subject is third-person and plural.īut there is one feature of German adjectives which is decidedly odd. It’s an example of the phenomenon known as agreement, which is very common in natural languages. For example, in the two noun phrases below, the adjective schwarz ‘black’ appears in two different forms due to the fact that the nouns Hund ‘dog’ and Katze have different genders (masculine and feminine, respectively).Īlthough it can be difficult for speakers of languages that have invariant adjectives, like English, to get used to this feature of German, it’s not a particularly remarkable one. In the following charts you can see how the German adjective endings are changing depending if you use a weak, strong or mixed adjective.As in many other languages, German adjectives take different endings depending on the case, number and gender of the nouns that they are associated with. It also effects the ending if you use a definite article, an indefinite article, a possessive pronouns, zero article or no article at all. The adjective endings are changing depending on the case and on the gender. These endings can change adjectives from being a word that describes something in general to being a word that describes a specific person, place or thing. The adjectives in German have four main endings: -e, -en, -er and -es. Adjectives are words that describe nouns, and when they have endings, it can make things even more difficult to remember if you don't know what the ending means. Mixed adjectives, which are called gemischte Adjektive in German, have both strong and weak forms based on context or placement in a sentence.Īdjective endings German can be a confusing part of the German language. These adjectives are not preceded by another word, but when they are they become the genitive form for that noun. Weak adjectives are called schwach in German. These adjectives don't change their form when they are preceded by another word. Strong adjectives are called stark in German. The following are the three types of German adjectives: German adjectives can be categorized as strong, weak, or mixed. You’ll learn what they mean, how they change the meaning of the word, and why you should care about them at all! No matter your level of German knowledge - this guide is for everyone.Īn adjective is a word that explains or changes a noun. This guide will help you identify and understand the adjective endings German. The grammar topics German adjectives, German cases and German articles are linked to each other so it is important to also know these topics. Understanding the German Adjective DeclinationĪdjective endings in German can be the most difficult to remember, so it’s important to learn them well.
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