Adjective Endings: Introduction
In German, adjectives that are used in front of a noun have an ending:
Das ist ein großer Tisch. Er hat eine schöne Wohnung. Wir fahren mit einem schnellen Auto.
In all other instances, the adjective has no ending:
Der Tisch ist groß. Ich finde die Wohnung schön. Wir fahren schnell.
The ending of an adjective depends on three factors:
- Is the noun masculine, feminine, neuter or plural?
- Is the noun in the nominative, accusative, dative or genitive?
- What article is being used?
Based on which article is being used, there are three different patterns of adjective endings, with the second being a mix of the other two. Here is an overview:
1. With definite article
Most forms have the ending -en (including all dative and genitive forms, and all plural forms); only five forms have the ending -e.
The same endings are used when instead of der/die/das/die, the following are used:
- dieser/ diese/ dieses/ diese
- welcher/ welche/ welches/ welche
- jeder/ jede/ jedes
- mancher/ manche/ manches/ manche
- Plural only: alle, beide, sämtliche
- ….
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plur. | |
| Nom. | -e | -e | -e | -en |
| Acc. | -en | -e | -e | -en |
| Dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| Gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
2. With indefinite article
Most forms have the ending -en (including all dative and genitive forms, and all plural forms); the other five forms take the ending of the definite article.
The same endings are used when instead of ein-, the following are used:
- Negative article: kein-
- Possessive articles: mein-, dein-, sein-, ihr-, unser-, euer/eur-, ihr-, Ihr-
- irgendein-, irgendwelche
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plur. | |
| Nom. | -er | -e | -es | -en |
| Acc. | -en | -e | -es | -en |
| Dat. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| Gen. | -en | -en | -en | -en |
3. With zero article
The adjective takes the ending of the definite article, except for two forms (masculine and neuter Genitive).
The same endings are used when instead of the zero article, the following are used:
- Singular: viel, wenig, mehr, etwas, genug, ….
- Plural: zwei, drei, vier,…..
- …..
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plur. | |
| Nom. | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| Acc. | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| Dat. | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| Gen. | -en | -er | -en | -er |
If the context is clear, the noun following the adjective is sometimes omitted.
Möchten Sie den blauen oder den schwarzen Anzug? – Ich nehme den blauen.
When a noun is described by more than one adjective, then all the adjectives have the same ending:
Er trägt einen eleganten, dunklen Anzug.
Das ist ein altes, aber sehr bequemes Sofa.
In some cases adjectives change when they are used with an ending:
hoch → hoh-
Das Haus ist hoch. Das ist ein hohes Haus.
Adjectives ending in -el lose the -e:
dunkel → dunkl-
Das Zimmer ist dunkel. Das ist ein dunkles Zimmer.
Adjectives ending in -er very often lose the -e:
teuer → teur-
Die Bluse ist teuer. Das ist eine teure Bluse.
Some adjectives do not get an ending.
These include the colours rosa and lila, and the adjectives super and prima:
Sie trägt ein rosa Kleid.
Das ist eine super Idee.
as well as adjectives derived from town names (and some regions) that end in -er:
auf dem Berliner Flughafen
die Schweizer Berge
Learning tip: Learn and practice the adjective endings step-by-step, starting with the nominative.