In German, gender agreement means that all parts of speech connected to a noun—such as articles, adjectives, and pronouns—must match the noun’s gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). This ensures sentences are grammatically coherent and clear.
- Nouns have three genders: der (masc.), die (fem.), das (neut.).
- Adjective endings change to reflect gender, number, and case.
- Pronouns also shift according to the noun’s gender and role in the sentence.
Articles, adjectives, and pronouns must all agree with the noun's gender, number, and case.
The three genders are masculine, feminine, and neuter.
It ensures grammatical coherence and clarity.
All four cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive) affect gender agreement.
The feminine definite article is 'die'.
Adjective endings change based on gender, number, and case.
'den' and 'des' are also correct but used for specific cases; 'der', 'die', 'das' are the base forms for masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Articles
Singular definite articles: der (masc.), die (fem.), das (neut.).
The table below shows the definite and indefinite articles for singular nouns in each gender:
| Gender | Definite Article | Indefinite Article |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | der | ein |
| Feminine | die | eine |
| Neuter | das | ein |
Correct indefinite articles: ein (masc./neut.), eine (fem.).
For plural nouns, regardless of gender, the definite article is die, and there is no direct indefinite article:
| Number | Definite Article | Indefinite Article |
|---|---|---|
| Plural | die | (none) |
die
Adjectives
When adjectives describe a noun, their endings change to match the noun’s gender, number, and case. For example, the adjective for "big" (groß) appears as:
- der große Mann (masc., nom., sing.)
- die große Frau (fem., nom., sing.)
- das große Kind (neut., nom., sing.)
- die großen Autos (pl., nom.)
In German, the same base adjective (groß-) adapts to each context through its ending (-e, -er, -es, -en, etc.).
Adjective endings depend on gender, number, and case.
For a feminine noun in nominative singular, it's 'große'.
Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns in a sentence and must agree in gender and number:
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | er | sie |
| Feminine | sie | sie |
| Neuter | es | sie |
For example:
- Der Mann ist hier. Er ist nett. (Masc. sing. – he)
- Die Frau ist hier. Sie ist nett. (Fem. sing. – she)
- Das Kind ist hier. Es ist nett. (Neut. sing. – it)
- Die Kinder sind hier. Sie sind nett. (Plural – they)
Conclusion
German gender agreement ensures that articles, adjectives, and pronouns all match the noun’s gender, number, and case, making sentences clear and grammatically correct.
- Nouns are masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das).
- Adjective endings change to align with gender, number, and case.
- Pronouns shift to reflect the gender and number of the noun they replace.