Articles in German Grammar

Articles  in German Grammar are used with nouns. They can be definite: der, die, das (the); or indefinite: ein, eine (a, an). In English grammar, the article does not change its form, however, in German grammar, the article changes its form to indicate the gender, number and case of a noun.

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Articles in German Grammar

They are used with nouns. They can be definite: der, die, das (the); or indefinite: ein, eine (a, an). In English grammar, the article does not change its form, however, in German grammar, the article changes its form to indicate the gender, number and case of a noun.

Example

Indefinite Articles

The indefinite articles are ein (masculineneuter) and eine (feminine). We use the indefinite article:

  • when we’re talking about something specific

Example: Lena ist die Freundin von Franz. . (the only one – they are a couple)

  • when we’ve already mentioned something, or assume it to be already known

Example: Das Eis schmeckt ihr sehr gut. . 

Declension Table for German Articles

This table provides a simple overview of the declension of definite and indefinite articles the nominative, accusative, dative and genitive cases in German grammar.

 

Contractions: article + preposition

When a preposition is placed in front of a definite article, the two are contracted into one word. The table below displays a list of the most common preposition and article contractions.

No Article

We generally don’t use any article for:

  • names of places

Example: Sie wohnen in Bremen.

  • the names of most countries except for e. g. die Schweiz, die Türkei, die USA

Example: Wir machen Urlaub in Österreich.

(but: Wir machen Urlaub in der Schweiz.)

  • Equalisations/identifications using the verbs sein/werden

Example: Es ist Juli.

Mein Bruder will Arzt werden.

  • particular concrete abilities

Example: Ich spiele Klavier/Tennis.

Leo spricht Japanisch.

  • materials/substances e. g. Papier, Holz, Wasser, Milch, Eisen, but only in a general context. Use an article when talking about specific materials.

Example: Papier wird aus Holz hergestellt.

Wir müssen noch Wasser kaufen.

(but: Das Papier ist alle./Wo ist das Holz für den Kamin?)

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