Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly use German definite and indefinite articles in the nominative case, matching the three genders from Lesson 4.
Lesson Explanation
Definite articles (nominative case, “the”):
der — masculine: der Mann die — feminine: die Frau das — neuter: das Kind die — plural (all genders): die Männer
Indefinite articles (“a/an”) — note that German, unlike English, has no plural indefinite article at all:
ein — masculine: ein Mann eine — feminine: eine Frau ein — neuter: ein Kind
A genuinely important note previewing Part 4: these are specifically the nominative case forms, used for the subject of a sentence. German articles change form depending on grammatical case — a genuinely important structural feature this course builds toward directly in Part 4’s coverage of the accusative and dative cases.
Practice Questions
1. What is the nominative masculine definite article?
View Answer
der
2. What is the nominative feminine definite article?
View Answer
die
3. What is the nominative neuter definite article?
View Answer
das
4. What is the plural definite article, for all genders?
View Answer
die
5. What is the masculine indefinite article?
View Answer
ein
6. What is the feminine indefinite article?
View Answer
eine
7. What is the neuter indefinite article?
View Answer
ein
8. Does German have a plural indefinite article, the way English has “some”?
View Answer
No.
9. What case are these article forms specifically for?
View Answer
The nominative case (the subject of a sentence).
10. What later Part does this lesson explicitly preview, regarding articles changing form?
View Answer
Part 4’s coverage of the accusative and dative cases.
11. Write the correct indefinite article for “Frau” (feminine).
View Answer
eine
12. Are the masculine and neuter indefinite articles the same or different?
View Answer
The same — both are “ein.”