In German grammar, agreement (called Kongruenz) means that certain parts of a sentence must match in gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular or plural), and case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). This affects pronouns, articles, adjectives, and verbs. Additionally, some prefixes and suffixes can influence agreement rules within word formation.
Gender and Number Agreement
German nouns have a fixed gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. They are also singular or plural. Articles, adjectives, and pronouns must agree with the noun’s gender and number.
- Masculine: der Mann (the man)
- Feminine: die Frau (the woman)
- Neuter: das Kind (the child)
- Plural: die Männer/Frauen/Kinder (the men/women/children)
Example: der große Mann (the tall man), die große Frau (the tall woman), das große Kind (the tall child), die großen Kinder (the tall children)
Case Agreement
German has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. The endings of articles, adjectives, and pronouns change to match the case of the noun.
| Case | Example (masculine singular) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der große Mann | The tall man (subject) |
| Accusative | den großen Mann | The tall man (direct object) |
| Dative | dem großen Mann | To/for the tall man |
| Genitive | des großen Mannes | Of the tall man |
Example: Ich sehe den großen Mann. (I see the tall man.) — den großen Mann is accusative.
Pronoun Agreement
Pronouns must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they replace.
| Person | Nominative (subject) | Accusative (direct object) | Dative (indirect object) |
|---|---|---|---|
| st sing. | ich | mich | mir |
| nd sing. | du | dich | dir |
| rd sing. masc. | er | ihn | ihm |
| rd sing. fem. | sie | sie | ihr |
| rd sing. neut. | es | es | ihm |
| st pl. | wir | uns | uns |
| nd pl. | ihr | euch | euch |
| rd pl. | sie | sie | ihnen |
Example: Ich gebe dem Mann sein Buch. (I give the man his book.) — dem Mann is dative, sein agrees in gender and number.
Replace the noun: Ich gebe der Frau einen Brief. → Ich gebe ___ einen Brief. (fem. singular dative pronoun)
ihr
'Frau' is feminine singular, dative case. The correct pronoun is 'ihr' in dative.
Verb Agreement
Verbs agree with their subject in person and number. This affects the verb ending in the present tense.
| Person | Singular | Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| st | ich -e | wir -en | ich gehe / wir gehen |
| nd | du -st | ihr -t | du gehst / ihr geht |
| rd | er/sie/es -t | sie -en | er geht / sie gehen |
Example: Sie geht (She goes), Sie gehen (They go).
Complete the sentence: Ihr ___ (lesen) ein Buch.
lest
Second-person plural ends with '-t': ihr lest.
Agreement with Prefixes and Suffixes
Some prefixes and suffixes can affect agreement, especially in forming adjectives and participles.
- -ig, -lich, -isch (adjective suffixes) follow normal agreement patterns: fröhlicher Mann, fröhliche Frau, fröhliches Kind
- Participle prefixes (ge- for past participles) remain fixed, but the participle ending agrees as usual: der gegangene Mann, die gegangene Frau
- Prefixes like un- (meaning "not") do not affect agreement: unabhängiger Mann, unabhängige Frau
Example: der spannende Film, die spannende Geschichte, das spannende Buch
Complete the adjective: das ___ Buch (spannend + -e ending for neut. nominative)
spannende
Neuter nominative singular also takes '-e': 'das spannende Buch'.
Summary
- Articles, adjectives, and pronouns must match the noun’s gender, number, and case.
- Verbs must match the subject’s person and number.
- Prefixes like un-, ver-, and suffixes like -ig, -lich follow normal agreement rules.
- Participle prefixes ge- do not change, but participle endings agree with the noun.
By learning these agreement rules, you can build grammatically correct sentences in German.
Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025
