German gender agreement rules for articles, adjectives, and pronouns matching masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.
German uses three genders for nouns—masculine, feminine, and neuter—and all related words must agree in gender (as well as number and case). This influences the form of articles, adjectives, and pronouns. Gender agreement is key to correct and natural German grammar.
- Nouns have fixed genders that must be memorized.
- Definite articles (the), indefinite articles (a/an), adjective endings, and pronouns all change to match the noun’s gender.
- Gender agreement applies across all cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive).
Definite Articles
Definite articles (the) change for gender, number, and case. Here are the singular forms across the four cases:
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Example (Singular) | Example (Translation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | der Mann | the man |
| die Frau | the woman | ||||
| das Kind | the child | ||||
| Accusative | den | die | das | Ich sehe den Mann. | I see the man. |
| Ich sehe die Frau. | I see the woman. | ||||
| Ich sehe das Kind. | I see the child. | ||||
| Dative | dem | der | dem | Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. | I give the man the book. |
| Ich gebe der Frau das Buch. | I give the woman the book. | ||||
| Ich gebe dem Kind das Buch. | I give the child the book. | ||||
| Genitive | des (+-s/es) | der | des (+-s/es) | das Buch des Mannes | the man's book |
| das Buch der Frau | the woman's book | ||||
| das Buch des Kindes | the child's book |
Key points:
- Masculine and neuter use des in genitive, often adding -s or -es to the noun.
- Feminine uses der in genitive and dative.
- Plural definite article is always die (nominative/accusative) and den (dative), regardless of gender.
What is the genitive singular definite article for feminine nouns?
der
Feminine nouns use 'der' as the definite article in the genitive singular case.
Indefinite Articles
Indefinite articles (a/an) exist only in singular and follow gender and case rules. There is kein (no/none) for negative forms, which also follows gender agreement.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Example (Singular) | Example (Translation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein | ein Mann | a man |
| eine Frau | a woman | ||||
| ein Kind | a child | ||||
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein | Ich sehe einen Mann. | I see a man. |
| Ich sehe eine Frau. | I see a woman. | ||||
| Ich sehe ein Kind. | I see a child. | ||||
| Dative | einem | einer | einem | Ich gebe einem Mann das Buch. | I give a man the book. |
| Ich gebe einer Frau das Buch. | I give a woman the book. | ||||
| Ich gebe einem Kind das Buch. | I give a child the book. | ||||
| Genitive | eines (+-s/es) | einer | eines (+-s/es) | das Buch eines Mannes | the book of a man |
| das Buch einer Frau | the book of a woman | ||||
| das Buch eines Kindes | the book of a child |
Key points:
- Feminine is always eine (nom/acc/sg) and einer (dat/gen).
- Masculine uses ein in nom, einen in acc, and einem/eines in dat/gen.
- Neuter uses ein in nom/acc, and einem/eines in dat/gen.
- Plural has no indefinite article; use quantifiers (some, any) or plural adjectives without articles.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns replace nouns and must match the noun’s gender, number, and case. Here are singular paradigms for masculine, feminine, and neuter:
| Case | Masculine (der Mann) | Feminine (die Frau) | Neuter (das Kind) | Example (Singular) | Example (Translation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | er | sie | es | Er ist müde. | He is tired. |
| Sie ist müde. | She is tired. | ||||
| Es ist müde. | It is tired. | ||||
| Accusative | ihn | sie | es | Ich sehe ihn. | I see him. |
| Ich sehe sie. | I see her. | ||||
| Ich sehe es. | I see it. | ||||
| Dative | ihm | ihr | ihm | Ich gebe ihm das Buch. | I give him the book. |
| Ich gebe ihr das Buch. | I give her the book. | ||||
| Ich gebe ihm das Buch. | I give it the book. | ||||
| Genitive | seiner | ihrer | seiner | Ich erinnere mich seiner. | I remember him. |
| Ich erinnere mich ihrer. | I remember her. |
Key points:
- Feminine singular pronoun is always sie.
- Neuter singular pronoun is es.
- Masculine singular pronouns are er/ihn/ihm/seiner.
- Plural pronouns are always sie (nominative/accusative) and ihnen (dative).
What is the accusative singular pronoun for a feminine noun?
sie
'sie' is the accusative singular pronoun for feminine nouns.
Adjective Endings
Adjectives take different endings depending on whether there is a definite article (strong/weak endings), indefinite article (mixed endings), or no article. The ending must agree with gender, case, and number.
After Definite Articles (Weak Endings)
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Example (Singular) | Example Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der gute Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | der gute Mann | the good man |
| Accusative | den guten Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | Ich sehe den guten Mann. | I see the good man. |
| Dative | dem guten Mann | der guten Frau | dem guten Kind | Ich gebe dem guten Mann das Buch. | I give the good man the book. |
| Genitive | des guten Mannes | der guten Frau | des guten Kindes | das Buch des guten Mannes | the book of the good man |
After Indefinite Articles (Mixed Endings)
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Example (Singular) | Example Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein guter Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind | ein guter Mann | a good man |
| Accusative | einen guten Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind | Ich sehe einen guten Mann. | I see a good man. |
| Dative | einem guten Mann | einer guten Frau | einem guten Kind | Ich gebe einem guten Mann das Buch. | I give a good man the book. |
| Genitive | eines guten Mannes | einer guten Frau | eines guten Kindes | das Buch eines guten Mannes | the book of a good man |
No Article (Strong Endings)
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Example (Singular) | Example Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | guter Mann | gute Frau | gutes Kind | guter Mann | good man |
| Accusative | guten Mann | gute Frau | gutes Kind | Ich sehe guten Mann. | I see good man. |
| Dative | gutem Mann | guter Frau | gutem Kind | Ich gebe gutem Mann das Buch. | I give good man the book. |
| Genitive | guten Mannes | guter Frau | guten Kindes | Buch guten Mannes | book of good man |
Key points:
- Masculine nominative adjectives end in -er (ein guter Mann) or -e after der (der gute Mann).
- Feminine adjectives end in -e (immer) for nom/acc singular.
- Neuter adjectives end in -es in nominative/accusative singular (ein gutes Kind).
- Dative singular adjectives always end in -en after articles.
- Genitive singular adjectives usually end in -en.
Common Mistakes
- Using the wrong gender article (e.g., der Kind ❌, das Kind ✅).
- Forgetting to change the article in accusative (e.g., ich sehe der Mann ❌, ich sehe den Mann ✅).
- Using masculine endings for all genders (e.g., ein guter Frau ❌, eine gute Frau ✅).
- Omitting adjective endings (e.g., ein gut Mann ❌, ein guter Mann ✅).
- Using the wrong pronoun (e.g., sie for der Mann ❌, er ✅).
Summary
German gender agreement requires matching articles, adjectives, and pronouns to the noun’s gender, number, and case. The main patterns to memorize are:
- Masculine: der/ein/einen following strong/mixed endings, pronoun er.
- Feminine: die/eine/immer -e adjective endings, pronoun sie.
- Neuter: das/ein/-es adjective endings, pronoun es.
Mastering these rules leads to grammatically correct and natural German sentences.
What are the key patterns for feminine nouns in gender agreement?
die/eine/immer -e for adjectives, pronoun sie.
Feminine singular nouns use 'die'/'eine', adjectives typically end in -e in nominative/accusative, and the pronoun is 'sie'.
Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025
