Descriptive adjectives are words that provide information about the qualities or characteristics of nouns, making sentences more vivid and specific. They can describe things like color, size, shape, emotion, texture, and more.
- Describe various attributes of nouns, such as appearance, size, color, emotion, etc.
- Make language more vivid and detailed.
- Usually agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case (in languages like German).
Descriptive adjectives play a crucial role in communication by allowing speakers and writers to paint a clearer picture of the people, places, things, or ideas they are discussing.
Descriptive adjectives describe the qualities or states of nouns.
The word 'blue' is a descriptive adjective.
A German descriptive adjective must agree with the noun's gender, number, and case.
Structure and Usage
Descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun they describe in many languages (e.g., Spanish, French), but in English and German, they typically precede the noun. In German, adjectives must change their endings to match the gender, number, and case of the noun.
- Provide details about a noun’s appearance, condition, or other traits.
- Position depends on the language (before the noun in English and German; often after in Romance languages).
- Must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case in German.
Example in English:
- A beautiful painting (adjective before noun)
Example in German:
- Ein schöner Hund (masculine, nominative, singular)
- Eine schöne Katze (feminine, nominative, singular)
- Einem schönen Kind (neuter, dative, singular)
In German, descriptive adjectives typically appear before the noun.
German descriptive adjectives must agree with the noun's gender, number, and case.
'happy' is a descriptive adjective.
Red, tall, and cold are descriptive adjectives.
Adjective Endings in German
In German, the ending of a descriptive adjective depends on whether it’s used with a definite article (der, die, das), an indefinite article (ein, eine), or no article, as well as the gender, number, and case of the noun.
German descriptive adjectives change endings based on gender, number, and case.
With Definite Articles
| Case | Masc | Fem | Neut | Plur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -e | -e | -e | -en |
| Accusative | -en | -e | -e | -en |
| Dative | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| Genitive | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Example:
- Der alte Mann (The old man) [Masc, Nom]
- Die alte Frau (The old woman) [Fem, Nom]
- Das alte Kind (The old child) [Neut, Nom]
- Die alten Leute (The old people) [Plur, Nom]
With definite articles, the endings are -e for masculine, feminine, and neuter singular, and -en for plural.
Without Articles
| Case | Masc | Fem | Neut | Plur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | -er | -e | -es | -e |
| Accusative | -en | -e | -es | -e |
| Dative | -em | -er | -em | -en |
| Genitive | -en | -en | -en | -en |
Example:
- Alter Mann (Old man) [Masc, Nom]
- Alte Frau (Old woman) [Fem, Nom]
- Altes Kind (Old child) [Neut, Nom]
- Alte Leute (Old people) [Plur, Nom]
Without an article, adjectives use -er (masc), -e (fem/plur), -es (neut) in the nominative.
schöne and schönen are correct depending on case; 'schöner' is for no article.
'klein' is a descriptive adjective (meaning 'small').
Conclusion
Descriptive adjectives are essential for adding detail and color to language. In German, they require careful attention to agreement rules, which link the adjective closely to the noun it describes.
- Descriptive adjectives describe the qualities of nouns.
- In German, adjective endings change with gender, number, case, and article.
- Mastery of adjective agreement is key to grammatically correct and expressive German.