German grammar · Elementary (A2)
Adjective endings after ein, kein and mein
Why German adjectives change their ending before a noun: the endings after ein, kein and mein, and with plurals without an article.
No ending after sein
After (and ), an adjective never changes: It only needs an ending when it stands before a noun: , .
- Der Mann ist groß.The man is tall.
- Das ist ein großer Mann.That's a tall man.
After ein, kein and mein
doesn't show the gender of masculine and neuter nouns, so the adjective does it: masculine -er, neuter -es, feminine -e. As a masculine object, is followed by -en. After , , , and , the endings are the same.
In the dative, the adjective always ends in -en: , .
| Use | masculine | feminine | neuter | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject | ||||
| object | ||||
| dative |
- Er hat einen kurzen Bart.He has a short beard.
- Das ist mein neues Handy.That's my new mobile.
- Ich habe keine große Wohnung.I don't have a big flat.
Plurals without an article
With a plural noun and no article, the adjective ends in -e as the subject or object: , . Two or more adjectives all get the same ending: .
- Sie hat lange blonde Haare.She has long blond hair.
- Hier gibt es billige Wohnungen.There are cheap flats here.
After der, die, das
After , and , the article already shows the gender, so the adjective only needs -e or -en: , , , but , and -en in all plurals and in the dative: , .
- Die rote Jacke gefällt mir.I like the red jacket.
- Ich nehme den blauen Schal.I'll take the blue scarf.
No article in the singular: frischer Kaffee
Food and drink are often used without an article. Then the adjective takes the ending that / / would have: (), (), (). As an object, the masculine becomes -en: In the dative, masculine and neuter end in -em: .
- Versuch doch, mehr frisches Obst zu essen.Why not try to eat more fresh fruit?
- Ich trinke morgens nur schwarzen Kaffee.In the morning I only drink black coffee.