ARTICLES

What is an article?
In English, an article is one of the words the, a and an which is used in front of a noun.

Different types of articles

There are two types of article.

• the definite article: the in English. This is used to identify a particular thing or person.

I’m going to the supermarket.

That’s the woman I was talking to.

• the indefinite article: a or an in English, some or any (or no word at all) in the plural. This is used to refer to something unspecific, or something that you do not really know about.

Is there a supermarket near here?

I need a day off.

The definite article

In English the definite article the always keeps the same form.

the book

the books

with the books

In German, however, the definite article has many forms. All German nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter and, just as in English, they can be either singular or plural. The word you choose for the depends on whether the noun it is used with is masculine, feminine or neuter, singular or plural AND it also depends on the case of the noun. This may sound complicated, but it is not too difficult.

Die Frau ging spazieren.	The woman went for a walk.
Der Mann ist geschieden.	The man is divorced.
Sie fährt mit dem Auto in die Stadt.	She travels into town by car.
Die Farbe der Jacke gefällt mir nicht.	I don’t like the colour of the jacket.
Ich muss die Kinder abholen.	I have to pick up the children.
Das will ich mit den Behörden besprechen.	I want to discuss that with the authorities.

For more information on Nouns, see page 1.

The definite article changes for masculine, feminine and neuter singular nouns.

	Definite Article +Singular Noun	Meaning
Masculine	der Mann	the man
Feminine	die Frau	the woman
Neuter	das Mädchen	the girl

The plural forms of the definite article are the same for all genders.

	Definite Article + Plural Noun	Meaning
Masculine	die Männer	the men
Feminine	die Frauen	the women
Neuter	die Mädchen	the girls

Tip

It is a good idea to learn the article or the gender with the noun when you come across a word for the first time, so that you know whether it is masculine, feminine or neuter. A good dictionary will also give you this information.

The definite article also changes according to the case of the noun in the sentence – nominative, accusative, genitive or dative.

For more information on Cases, see page 9.

The forms of the definite article in each case are as follows:

Case	Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Neuter Singular	All Genders Plural
Nominative	der	die	das	die
Accusative	den	die	das	die
Genitive	des	der	des	der
Dative	dem	der	dem	den

Der Mann ging ins Haus.	The man went into the house.
Die Frau geht jeden Abend schwimmen.	The woman goes swimming every night.
Sie wollen das Mädchen adoptieren.	They want to adopt the girl.
Die zwei Frauen nebenan wollen ihr Haus renovieren.	The two women next door want to renovate their house.
Der Mann mit der reichen Frau.	The man with the rich wife.
Die Mädchen gehen morgen ins Kino.	The girls are going to the cinema tomorrow.
Ich will nicht nur mit den Männern arbeiten.	I don’t just want to work with the men.

Key points

The definite article changes for masculine, feminine and neuter singular nouns.

The plural forms of the definite article are the same for all genders.

The form of the definite article also changes depending on the case of the noun in the sentence.

Using the definite article

The definite article in German (der, die or das) is used in more or less the same way as we use the in English, but it is also used in German in a few places where you might not expect it.

The definite article is used with words like prices, life and time that describe qualities, ideas or experiences (called abstract nouns) rather than something that you can touch with your hand. Usually, the is missed out in English with this type of word.

Die Preise sind wirklich hoch.	Prices are really high.
Das Leben ist schön.	Life is wonderful.
Die Zeit vergeht schnell.	Time passes quickly.

Note that these nouns are sometimes used WITHOUT the article.

Es braucht Mut.	It needs (some) courage.
Gibt es dort Leben?	Is there (any) life there?

You also use the definite article with the genitive case to show that something belongs to someone.

die Jacke der Frau

the woman’s jacket

Note that you do not usually use the definite article with the genitive case if the noun is a proper name or is being used as a proper name.
A proper name is the name of a person, place, organization or thing.

Jans Auto	Jan’s car
Muttis Auto	Mummy’s car

Occasionally, the definite article IS used with proper names:

• to make the sex of the person or the case clearer

Er hat es dem Kekilli gegeben.

He gave it to Kekilli.

• where an adjective is used before the proper name

Die alte Frau Schnorr ist gestorben.

Old Frau Schnorr has died.

• in certain informal situations or to emphasize something

Ich habe heute den Kevin gesehen.

I saw Kevin today.

In German, you have to use the definite article in front of masculine and feminine countries and districts, but you don’t need it for neuter ones.

Die Schweiz ist auch schön.	Switzerland is also beautiful.
Deutschland ist sehr schön.	Germany is very beautiful.

Grammar Extra!

You also use the definite article when geographical names are preceded by an adjective.

das heutige Deutschland

today’s Germany

The definite article is used with names of seasons.

Der Winter kommt bald.

Soon it will be winter.

You often use the definite article with meals.

Im Hotel wird das Abendessen ab acht Uhr serviert.

Dinner is served from eight o’clock in the hotel.

Note that there are certain expressions with meals when you don’t use the definite article.

Um acht Uhr ist Frühstück.

Breakfast is at eight o’clock.

You also use the definite article with the names of roads.

Sie wohnt jetzt in der Geisener Straße.

She lives in Geisener Road now.

The definite article is used with months of the year, except after the prepositions seit, nach and vor.

Der Dezember war ziemlich kalt.	The December was quite cold.
Wir sind seit September hier.	We have been here since September.

For more information on Prepositions, see page 153.

If you’re talking about prices and want to say each, per or a, you use the definite article.

Die kosten fünf Euro das Pfund.	They cost five euros a pound.
Ich habe sechs Euro das Stück bezahlt.	I paid six euros each.

In certain common expressions the definite article is used.

in die Stadt fahren	to go into town
mit der Post	by post
mit dem Zug/Bus/Auto	by train/bus/car

Grammar Extra!

In German, the definite article can be used instead of a demonstrative adjective.

Du willst das Buch lesen!

You want to read that book!

For more information on demonstrative adjectives, see page 31.

In German, the definite article is left out in certain set expressions.

von Beruf	by profession
Nachrichten hören	to listen to the news

Shortened forms of the definite article

After certain prepositions, the definite article can be shortened, though it is best to avoid using some of these forms in writing.

•	für das fürs
	Es ist fürs Baby.	It’s for the baby.
•	vor dem vorm
	Es liegt vorm Haus.	It’s lying in front of the house.
•	um das ums
	Es geht ums Geld.	It’s a question of money.

The following shortened forms can be used in writing.

•	an dem am
	Am 1. Mai fahren wir in die Ferien.	We go on holiday on the 1st of May.
•	in dem im
	Das Buch liegt im Haus.	The book’s in the house.
•	zu dem zum
	Ich muss zum Bahnhof gehen.	I have to go to the station.
•	zu der zur
	Sie geht jeden Tag zur Schule.	She goes to school every day.

For more information on Shortened forms of prepositions, see page 165.

Key points

The definite article is used in German with:

• abstract nouns
• the genitive case to show possession
• proper names, in certain exceptional cases
• masculine and feminine countries and districts
• names of seasons and with months of the year, except after the prepositions seit, nach and vor
• names of roads
• meals and prices
• certain set expressions

When combined with certain prepositions, the definite article can be shortened.

Words declined like the definite article

These words follow the same patterns as the definite article:

	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative
Plural only	alle	alle	aller	allen
Singular	beides	beides	beides	beiden
Plural	beide	beide	beider	beiden
Singular	dieser, diese, dieses	diesen, diese, dieses	dieses/diesen, dieser, dieses/diesen	diesem, dieser, diesem
Plural	diese	diese	dieser	diesen
Singular	einiger, einige, einiges	einigen, einige, einiges	einiges/einigen, einiger, einiges/einigen	einigem, einiger, einigem
Plural	einige	einige	einiger	einigen
Singular	jeder, jede, jedes	jeden, jede, jedes	jedes/jeden, jeder, jedes/jeden	jedem, jeder, jedem
Plural	jede	jede	jeder	jeden
Singular	jener, jene, jenes	jenen, jene, jenes	jenes/jenen, jener, jenes/jenen	jenem, jener, jenem
Plural	jene	jene	jener	jenen
Singular	mancher, manche, manches	manchen, manche, manches	manches/manchen, mancher, manches/manchen	manchem, mancher, manchem
Plural	manche	manche	mancher	manchen
Singular	solcher, solche, solches	solchen, solche, solches	solches/solchen, solcher, solches/solchen	solchem, solcher, solchem
Plural	solche	solche	solcher	solchen
Singular	welcher, welche, welches	welchen, welche, welches	welches/welchen, welcher, welches/welchen	welchem, welcher, welchem
Plural	welche	welche	welcher	welchen

Note that dieser or jener are used to translate the English demonstrative adjectives this, that, these and those.

•	alle, aller, allen (plural only)	all, all of them
	Wir haben alle gesehen.	We saw all of them.
	Die Eltern fuhren mit allen Kindern weg.	The parents went off with all their children.
•	beide (plural only)	both
	Ich habe beide Bücher gelesen.	I’ve read both books.
•	dieser, diese, dieses	this, this one, these
	Dieser junge Mann ist begabt.	This young man is talented.
	Dieses alte Haus ist wirklich schön.	This old house is really beautiful.
•	einiger, einige, einiges	some, a few, a little
	Einige von uns gingen spazieren.	Some of us went for a walk.
	Wir haben einiges gesehen.	We saw quite a lot of things.
•	jeder, jede, jedes	each, each one, every
	Jeder Schüler bekommt ein Zeugnis.	Every pupil receives a report.
	Sie kommt jedes Mal zu spät.	She arrives late every time.
•	jener, jene, jenes	that, that one, those
	Jener Junge hatte seine Brieftasche verloren.	That boy had lost his wallet.
•	mancher, manche, manches	many a, some
	Mancher Mann bleibt gern mit den Kindern zu Hause.	Some men like staying at home with the children.
	Manches Auto fährt schneller als 220 km/h.	Some cars can go faster than 220 km/h.
•	solcher, solche, solches	such, such a
	Ein solches Mountainbike hätte ich auch gern.	I’d really like to have a mountain bike like that too.
•	welcher, welche, welches	which, which one
	Welche Frau hat die Stelle bekommen?	Which woman got the job?

Grammar Extra!

sämtliche and irgendwelcher also follow the same pattern as the definite article:

•	sämtliche	all, entire (usually plural)
	Sie besitzt Tolkiens sämtliche Werke.	She owns the complete works of Tolkien.
•	irgendwelcher, -e, -es	some or other
	Sind noch irgendwelche Reste da?	Are there any leftovers?

The words listed above can be used as:

• articles

Dieser Mann kommt aus Südamerika.	This man comes from South America.
Sie geht jeden Tag ins Büro.	She goes to the office every day.

• pronouns – a pronoun is a word you use instead of a noun, when you do not need or want to name someone or something directly, for example, it, you, none.

Willst du diesen?	Do you want this one?
Man kann ja nicht alles wissen.	You can’t know everything.
Es gibt manche, die keinen Alkohol mögen.	There are some people who don’t like alcohol.

For more information on Pronouns, see page 69.

Grammar Extra!

einiger and irgendwelcher end in -en in the genitive before masculine or neuter nouns ending in -s.

Er musste wegziehen wegen irgendwelchen Geredes.

He had to move away because of some gossip.

jeder, welcher, mancher and solcher can also do this or can have the usual -es ending.

Das Kind solcher Eltern wird Probleme haben.	The child of such parents will have problems.
Trotz jeden Versuchs scheiterten die Verhandlungen.	Despite all attempts, the negotiations failed.

solcher, beide and sämtliche can be used after another article or possessive adjective (in English, one of the words my, your, his, her, its, our or their).

Ein solches Rad habe ich früher auch gehabt.	I used to have a bike like that too.
Diese beiden Männer haben es gesehen.	Both of these men have seen it.

Although beide generally has plural forms only, there is one singular form, beides. While beide is more common and can refer to both people and things, beides refers only to things. Beide is used for two examples of the same thing or person, while beides is used for two different examples.

Es gab zwei Bleistifte und er hat beide genommen.	There were two pencils and he took both.
BUT
Es gab einen Bleistift und ein Bild und er hat beides genommen.	There was one pencil and one picture and he took both.

Note that beides is singular in German, whereas both is plural in English.

Beides ist richtig.

Both are correct.

dies often replaces the nominative and accusative dieses and diese when it is used as a pronoun.

Hast du dies schon gelesen?	Have you already read this?
Dies sind meine neuen Sachen.	These are my new things.

For more information on Pronouns, see page 69.

alle also has a fixed form, all, which is used together with other articles or possessive pronouns.

All sein Mut war verschwunden.	All his courage had disappeared.
Was machst du mit all diesem Geld?	What are you doing with all this money?

ganz can be used to replace both alle and all and is declined like an adjective.

Sie ist mit dem ganzen Geld verschwunden.

She disappeared with all the money.

For more information on Adjectives, see page 40.

ganz must be used:

• in time phrases

Es hat den ganzen Tag geschneit.

It snowed all day.

• when talking about geography

Im ganzen Land gab es keinen besseren Wein.

There wasn’t a better wine in the whole country.

• with nouns referring to a collection of people or animals (collective nouns)

Die ganze Gesellschaft war auf der Versammlung vertreten.

The entire company was represented at the meeting.

Grammar Extra!

derjenige/diejenige/dasjenige (the one, those) is declined in the same way as the definite article der + a weak adjective.

For more information on Weak adjectives, see page 42.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	derjenige Mann	diejenige Frau	dasjenige Kind
Accusative	denjenigen Mann	diejenige Frau	dasjenige Kind
Genitive	desjenigen Mann(e)s	derjenigen Frau	desjenigen Kind(e)s
Dative	demjenigen Mann	derjenigen Frau	demjenigen Kind

derselbe/dieselbe/dasselbe (the same, the same one) is declined in the same way as derjenige. However, after prepositions, the shortened forms of the definite article are used for the appropriate parts of derselbe.

zur selben (=zu derselben) Zeit	at the same time
im selben (=in demselben) Zimmer	in the same room

For more information on Shortened forms of prepositions, see page 165.

Key points

There is a group of words which are declined like the definite article der.

These words can be used as articles or pronouns.

solcher, beide and sämtliche can be used after another article or possessive adjective.

beide generally has plural forms only, but there is one singular form, beides.

When it is used as a pronoun dies often replaces the nominative and accusative dieses and diese.

alle also has a fixed form, all.

ganz must be used instead of alle in certain situations.

The indefinite article

In English we have the indefinite article a, which changes to an in front of a word that starts with a vowel. In the plural we say either some, any or nothing at all.

In German the word you choose for a depends on whether the noun it is used with is masculine, feminine or neuter, singular or plural AND it also depends on the case of the noun.

Da ist ein Auto.	There’s a car.
Sie hat eine Wohnung.	She has a flat.
Er gab es einem Kind.	He gave it to a child.

It has no plural forms.

Computer sind in letzter Zeit teurer geworden.

Computers have become more expensive recently.

The indefinite article is formed as follows.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ein	eine	ein
Accusative	einen	eine	ein
Genitive	eines	einer	eines
Dative	einem	einer	einem

Using the indefinite article

The indefinite article is used very much as in English.

Da ist ein Bus.	There’s a bus.
Sie hat eine neue Jacke.	She has a new jacket.
Sie gab es einer alten Dame.	She gave it to an old lady.

In certain situations, you do not use the indefinite article:

• when talking about the job someone does

Sie ist Ärztin.

She’s a doctor.

• when talking about someone’s nationality or religion

Sie ist Deutsche.	She’s (a) German.
Er ist Moslem.	He’s (a) Muslim.

Note that the indefinite article IS used when an adjective comes before the noun.

Sie ist eine sehr begabte Journalistin.

She’s a very talented journalist.

• in certain fixed expressions

Es ist Geschmacksache.	It’s a question of taste.
Tatsache ist …	It’s a fact …

• after als (meaning as a)

Als Lehrerin verdiene ich nicht gut.	I don’t earn very much as a teacher.
Als Großmutter darf ich meine Enkel verwöhnen.	As a grandmother, I’m allowed to spoil my grandchildren.

The indefinite article in negative sentences

In English we use words like not and never to indicate that something is not happening or is not true. The sentences that these words are used in are called negative sentences.

I don’t know him.

I never do my homework on time.

In German, you use a separate negative form of the indefinite article, which is formed exactly like ein in the singular, and also has plural forms. It means no/ not a/not one/not any.

Case	Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Neuter Singular	All Genders Plural
Nominative	kein	keine	kein	keine
Accusative	keinen	keine	kein	keine
Genitive	keines	keiner	keines	keiner
Dative	keinem	keiner	keinem	keinen

Er hatte keine Geschwister.	He had no brothers or sisters.
Ich sehe keinen Unterschied.	I don’t see any difference.
Das ist keine richtige Antwort.	That’s not a correct answer.
Kein Mensch hat es gesehen.	Not one person has seen it.

Tip

This negative form of the indefinite article is even used when the positive form of the phrase has no article.

Er hatte Angst davor.	He was afraid of it.
Er hatte keine Angst davor.	He wasn’t afraid of it.

Grammar Extra!

The negative form of the indefinite article is also used in many informal expressions.

Sie hatte kein Geld mehr.	All her money was gone.
Es waren keine drei Monate vergangen, als …	It was less than three months later that …
Es hat mich keine zehn Euro gekostet.	It cost me less than ten euros.

If you want to emphasize the ein in the sentence, nicht ein can be used instead of kein.

Nicht ein Kind hat es singen können.

Not one child could sing it.

For more information on Negatives, see page 179.

Key points

The indefinite article is used in German:

• to translate the English a and any in the singular
• in negative sentences in its separate negative form, kein, to translate no

The indefinite article in German is NOT used when:

• talking about someone’s job, nationality or religion, unless an adjective is used before the noun
• in certain set expressions or after als meaning as a

Words declined like the indefinite article

The following words are possessive adjectives, one of the words my, your, his, her, its, our or their used with a noun to show that one person or thing belongs to another. They follow the same pattern as the indefinite articles ein and kein.

mein	my
dein	your (singular familiar)
sein	his/its
ihr	her/its
unser	our
euer	your (plural familiar)
ihr	their
lhr	your (polite singular and plural)

Possessive adjectives are formed in the following way.

	Nominative	Accusative	Genitive	Dative
Singular	mein, meine, mein	meinen, meine, mein	meines, meiner, meines	meinem, meiner, meinem
Plural	meine	meine	meiner	meinen
Singular	dein, deine, dein	deinen, deine, dein	deines, deiner, deines	deinem, deiner, deinem
Plural	deine	deine	deiner	deinen
Singular	sein, seine, sein	seinen, seine, sein	seines, seiner, seines	seinem, seiner, seinem
Plural	seine	seine	seiner	seinen
Singular	ihr, ihre, ihr	ihren, ihre, ihr	ihres, ihrer, ihres	ihrem, ihrer, ihrem
Plural	ihre	ihre	ihrer	ihren
Singular	unser, unsere, unser	unseren, unsere, unser	unseres, unserer, unseres	unserem, unserer, unserem
Plural	unsere	unsere	unserer	unseren
Singular	euer, eu(e)re, eu(e)res	eu(e)ren, eu(e)re, eu(e)res	eu(e)res, eu(e)rer, eu(e)res	eu(e)rem, eu(e)rer, eu(e)rem
Plural	eu(e)re	eu(e)re	eu(e)rer	eu(e)ren
Singular	ihr, ihre, ihr	ihren, ihre, ihr	ihres, ihrer, ihres	ihrem, ihrer, ihrem
Plural	ihre	ihre	ihrer	ihren

Mein kleiner Bruder will auch mitkommen.	My little brother wants to come too.
Wo steht dein altes Auto?	Where is your old car?
Er spielt Fußball mit seiner Tante.	He is playing football with his aunt.
Was ist mit ihrem Computer los?	What is wrong with her computer?
Ihre Kinder sind wirklich verwöhnt.	Their children are really spoiled.
Wie geht es Ihrer Schwester?	How is your sister?
Ich will meine Kinder regelmäßig sehen.	I want to see my children regularly.

Grammar Extra!

Possessive adjectives are often followed by other adjectives in German sentences. These adjectives then have the same endings as the indefinite article.

Er liebt sein altes Auto.	He loves his old car.
Sie hat ihren neuen Computer verkauft.	She sold her new computer.
Wo ist deine rote Jacke?	Where is your red jacket?

irgendein (meaning some … or other) and its plural form irgendwelche also take these endings.

Er ist irgendein bekannter Schauspieler.	He’s some famous actor or other.
Sie ist nur irgendeine alte Frau.	She’s just some old woman or other.
Sie hat irgendein neues Buch gekauft.	She bought some new book or other.
Ich muss irgendwelche blöden Touristen herumführen.	I have to show some stupid tourists or other round.

Key points

Possessive adjectives, one of the words my, your, his, her, its, our or their, are declined like the indefinite articles ein and kein.