Nouns and the nominative

A1

Every German noun has a gender and a plural form — with der, die, and das you'll understand the system behind it. You'll practice definite and indefinite articles in the nominative, the foundation for talking about things, people, and places.

  • Noun gender with article
  • Plural noun forms
  • Definite article, nominative
  • Indefinite article, nominative

Explanation

Every German noun has a gender: masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das). You can tell the gender from the article.

The definite article is der, die, or das. The indefinite article is ein, eine, or ein. In the plural, the definite article is always die: die Kinder.

The form here is the nominative. That's the case for the subject in a sentence — the person or thing that does something: Der Mann liest.

More
In German, nouns are always capitalized: Haus, Frau, Hund.
GenderdefiniteindefiniteExample
masculinedereinder Mann
femininedieeinedie Frau
neuterdaseindas Kind
pluraldie–die Kinder

Find words

der, die oder das?

ein oder eine?

Put sentences in order

Fill in the blanks

Grammar in context

Read these texts to consolidate what you learned. They fit this grammar lesson especially well.

Premium

Unlock all exercises for "Nouns and the nominative"

Practice the grammar point with interactive exercises — find words in sentences, fill-in-the-blanks, and more, with instant feedback.

  • Read all endings
  • 1319 exercises
  • 140 texts as PDF
  • 75 grammar lessons
FREE

Start with a little curiosity.

0
  • 4 complete grammar units for free
  • 4 complete stories or dialogs for free
  • Favorites
EDU

Bring your whole classroom along.

8/mo
  • Everything in SOLO, ready for your classroom
  • 50 student accounts included, expandable in steps of 50
  • Education portal with groups, invite links and results
103 stories · 37 dialogs · one growing library
LernLaterne Premium

Practise every grammar unit without limits.

Do every exercise in every unit, read stories that match and take everything with you as a PDF.

Included in Premium

  • 75 grammar lessons with exercises
  • Full access to all 103 German stories and 37 dialogs
  • Every text as a PDF, with worksheets and answer sheets
  • 1319 interactive exercises with instant feedback
  • Audio and word lookups for every text
  • Plus the illustrated A1 course with 9 bonus stories
FREE

Start with a little curiosity.

0
  • 4 complete grammar units for free
  • 4 complete stories or dialogs for free
  • Favorites
EDU

Bring your whole classroom along.

8/mo
  • Everything in SOLO, ready for your classroom
  • 50 student accounts included, expandable in steps of 50
  • Education portal with groups, invite links and results