Adjective Endings (D, ID and UP Articles)

As you’ve come to know and love, German articles are subject to the relationship of the noun’s gender and case. The combined classification of gender and case also determines the proper endings that must be attached to each of the adjectives ascribed to each noun.

I think the easiest way to demonstrate these adjective endings in action will be to utilize colored charts to decipher the correct adjective ending for each adjective-noun situation you may face, and then to construct examples. We will revamp our example sentences from the Articles post by adding the adjective “groß” (big) to each noun.

1) For nouns that are preceded by a definite article, the adjective endings are:

So, if we used all masculine nouns, the sentence would read like this:

• Der große Löwe isst den großen Apfel von demgroßen Besucher.

If we used all feminine nouns, the sentence would read like this:

• Die große Katze isst die große Kiwi von der großen Nonne.

If we used all neuter nouns, the sentence would read like this:

• Das große Pferd isst das große Fisch von dem großen Kind.

If we used all plural nouns, the sentence would read like this:

• Die großen Bären essen die großen Karotten von den großen Zoowärter.

In instances of the genitive case for each gender, the sentences would read like this:

• Der Löwe isst den Apfel des großen Besuchers.
• Die Katze isst die Kiwi der großen Nonne.
• Das Pferd isst das Fisch des großen Kinds.
• Die Bären essen die Karotten der großen Zoowärter.

2) For nouns that are preceded by an indefinite article, the adjective endings are:

If we used all masculine nouns, the sentence would read like this:

• Ein großer Löwe isst einen großen Apfel von einem großen Besucher.

If we used all feminine nouns, the sentence would read like this:

• Eine große Katze isst eine große Kiwi von einer großen Nonne.

If we used all neuter nouns, the sentence would read like this:

• Ein großes Pferd isst ein großes Fisch von einem großen Kind.

If we used all plural nouns and the “ein word” “kein”, the sentence would read like this:

• Keine großen Bären essen keine großen Karotten von keinen großen Zoowärter.

In instances of the genitive case for each gender, the sentences would read like this:

• Ein Löwe isst einen Apfel eines großen Besuchers.
• Eine Katze isst eine Kiwi einer großen Nonne.
• Ein Pferd isst ein Fisch eines großen Kinds.
• Keine Bären essen keine Karotten keiner großen Zoowärter.

3) For nouns that are not preceded by any article, the adjective endings are:

Notice how “gendered” these endings are! They are almost identical to the “der words” (definite articles) chart we learned in the Articles post (click here to see the “der words” chart)– the only difference is that the genitive masculine and genitive neuter are “-en” instead of “-es.” The way I remember that the unpreceded adjective endings is by supposing that if there is no article to define the noun’s gender, something has to do it, and that the noun’s adjective takes on that responsibility. Let’s change things up a bit an construct some new sentences using these nouns:

If we used each of these unpreceded nouns in the nominative case, the sentences would read like this:

• Übermäßiger Zorn hat Folgen.  (Excessive anger has consequences.)
• Übermäßige Gier hat Folgen. (Excessive greed has consequences.)
• Einwandfreies Gespür ist wichtig. (Impeccable intuition is important.)
• Glaubwürdige Lügen sind schlau. (Believable lies are clever.)

If we used each of these unpreceded nouns in the accusative case, the sentences would read like this:

• Sie hat unvorstellbaren Zorn. (She has incredible anger.)
• Sie hat unvorstellbare Gier. (She has incredible greed.)
• Sie hat unvorstellbares Gespür. (She has incredible intuition.)
• Sie hat unvorstellbare Lügen erzählt. (She has told incredible lies.)

If we used each of these unpreceded nouns in the dative case, the sentences would read like this:

• Sie war mit unvorstellbarem Zorn bestraft. (She was cursed with incredible anger.)
• Sie war mit unvorstellbarer Gier bestraft. (She was cursed with incredible greed.)
• Sie war mit unvorstellbarem Gespür bestraft. (She was cursed with incredible intuition.)
• Sie war mit unvorstellbaren Lügen bestraft. (She was cursed with incredible lies.)

If we used each of these unpreceded nouns in the genitive case, the sentences would read like this:

• Wegen unvorstellbaren Zorn, war der König ermordet. (Due to incredible anger, the king was murdered.)
• Wegen unvorstellbarer Gier, war der König ermordet. (Due to incredible greed, the king was murdered.)
• Wegen “unvorstellbaren“ Gespür, war der König ermordet. (Due to “incredible” intuition, the king was murdered.)
• Wegen unvorstellbarer Lügen, war der König ermordet. (Due to incredible lies, the king was murdered.)

4) For when you are totally in the dark about which adjective ending to use, the unchanging endings are: 

This fourth chart highlights endings which are the same, no matter if the noun is preceded by a definite article, indefinite article without an article. The moral of this story is that you’re best off guessing “-en” or “-e” if you’re really unsure.

Now that you know how to properly end them, go ahead and spice up those sentences with cunning adjectives!