How to put articles in German. Article in German

Before we start talking about the noun in German, let's talk about an equally important part of speech - the article. The article is a service part of speech in the German language and carries information about the gender, case and number of the noun, and also indicates whether the subject has been discussed before or is mentioned for the first time.

So, in German there are two types of articles: definite (der, die, das) and indefinite (ein, eine, ein). If there is no article, we can talk about a zero article.

Example: Das ist ein Buch. Das Buch ist ziemlich gut. - This is a book. The book is pretty good.

Articles, as a rule, are not translated into Russian.

Indefinite article

The indefinite article is used when we are talking about an unfamiliar, indefinite object mentioned for the first time.

The indefinite article, like the definite article, changes according to cases. There are four cases in German.
Nominative(N) [nominatif] – answers the questions: wer? (who?) was? (What?)
Genitiv(G) [genitif] – wessen? (whose? whose? whose?)
Dativ(D) [datif] - wem? (to whom?) wann? (when?) wo? (where?) wie? (How?)
Akkusativ(Akk) [akuzatif] - wen? was? (who? what?) wohin? (Where?)

The rules for declension of the indefinite article in the singular are given in the table. Plural of the indefinite article No.

As you can see, the declension of the masculine and neuter indefinite article differs only in one case - the accusative. Declension of the article with nouns female The easiest way to remember is that the nominative case is the same as the accusative, and the genitive case is the same as the dative.

Along with the form, you need to remember the rules for using the indefinite article. So, the indefinite article is used:

1. Before nouns that are mentioned for the first time.

Ich habe eine Wohnung. Auf dem Tisch steht ein Teller. - I have an apartment. There is a plate on the table.

1. Before nouns that are part of a complex nominal predicate (verb + noun). For example:

1. Before a noun in comparison.

Sie ist schön wie eine Rose. - She is as beautiful as a rose.

1. After the verbs “haben”, “brauchen” and after the phrase “es gibt”.

Wir haben ein Auto. Ich brauche eine Jacke. Hier gibt es eine Schule. — We have a car. I need a jacket. There is a school here.

1. Before nouns that denote profession, nationality, rank, if they are preceded by a defining word - for example, an adjective:

Er ist ein fleißiger Student. — He is a diligent student.

Remember! If there is no qualifying word before a noun denoting profession, nationality or rank, then the article is NOT used.

Definite article

The definite article indicates an object that is already familiar or known. The definite article is also declined according to cases.

Please note that in the case of the declension of the definite article, the masculine and neuter forms coincide only in the genitive and dative cases.

The indefinite article is also used according to some rules, which are given below. So, the indefinite article is used:

1. Before a noun that was used before.

Wie haben ein Hund. Der Hund ist groß. - We have a dog. The dog is big.

1. Before a noun that is known or determined by the situation or context.

Die Lehrerin sagt, “Öffnet die Lehrbücher.” - The teacher says: “Open your textbooks.”

1. Before a noun, after which there is some clarifying information, usually expressed by another noun with a preposition, a noun in genitive case or adverb.

Das ist das Buch meines Bruder. - This is my brother's book.
Das Buch auf dem Tisch ist ein Lehrbuch. — The book on the table is a textbook.
Der Mann links ist mein Vater. - The man on the left is my father.

1. Adjective in superlatives or ordinal numbers.

Das ist die größte Wohnung. — This is a big apartment.

Das ist das erste Haus. - This is the first house.

1. Before nouns that denote unique objects or phenomena: die Sonne (sun), der Mond (moon), etc.

Die Erde ist rund. - The earth is round.

To check how well you have understood the rule about articles, try to complete the following exercises. Don't be afraid to peek at the tables - we're just learning!

Lesson assignments

Exercise 1. Answer the questions.

1. Which article is used after the verbs “haben” and “brauchen”?
2. How many articles are there in German?
3. What article is used with nouns denoting unique objects or phenomena?
4. Name the form of the definite article male dative case.
5. What questions does the genitive case answer?

Exercise 2. Complete the table with the correct form of the article.

Answer 1:

1. Indefinite article.
2. Two: definite and indefinite. (Possible answer: three, if we take into account the zero article, i.e. its absence.)
3. Definite article.
4. Whose? Whose? Whose?

Articles in German have important grammatical functions. They express gender, number, case and the category of definiteness and indeterminacy of the noun they precede.

Types of articles

German language articles divides in three categories: singular der or ein- for the masculine gender, das or ein– for average, die or eine– for feminine and for plural – article die.

Articles der, das, die – certain And ein, eine – uncertain. The category of certainty says that the subject being discussed is isolated from many similar things and is known to the interlocutors, i.e. contextual or unique.

The indefinite article in German carries novelty information about an object in a given context, introduces interlocutors to a new object that has appeared in the field of communication and is replaced in repeated use by a definite article. For example:

Ich sehe da ein Mädchen. Das Mädchen weint.
I see (some) girl there. She's crying.

It is easy to see what shades of information both articles convey: in the first case, the girl has just appeared in our context, we do not know her yet, she is one of many for us, some kind of girl in other words. In the second sentence we already use definite article in German, because we continue to talk about that girl, the specific girl who is standing there, so in the translation we can easily replace the word “das Mädchen” simply with the word “she”, since it is already clear who we are talking about.

German article table

It is very important to understand the logic when the subject is not yet defined and when it already becomes defined, i.e. acquaintances, in each specific situation, otherwise even misunderstandings may arise in communicating with Germans. You cannot use only definite or indefinite articles, both of them carry their own grammatical and semantic functions and loads in the language system. Therefore, for clarity, below German article table to begin with, in the nominative case (who? what?).

Declension of articles in German by case

We use the nominative case when we answer the question “who?”, “what?”, i.e. we call an object, in other words, it itself produces an action, being a subject. If the action is directed at an object, and it acts as the object of this action, then the noun begins to change according to cases. Declension of articles in German is unthinkable without the participation of the article, unlike in Russian, where the very form of the word changes due to the ending or other methods of word formation. Therefore, as “Our Father” you need to know the following tables of declination of articles:

Declension of the definite article

Declension of the indefinite article

* Since the indefinite article ein came from the numeral eins= one, then in the plural ein is inappropriate, but according to a similar pattern the negative is declined kein= none, for plural – keine= none.

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In German there is a definite and indefinite article.

Definite article

der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter)

Indefinite article

ein (masculine), eine (feminine), ein (neuter)

In the plural, the definite article has a single form (die) for all three genders, the indefinite article does not have a plural form, therefore a noun, which in the singular is rarely used without an article, is found in the plural without an article much more often.

The article in German expresses not only the category of definiteness or uncertainty of a noun, which is not characteristic of a noun in Russian, but is also the main indicator of gender, number and case of a noun.

There are four cases in German:

Declension of the article

The grammatical form of a noun in the nominative and accusative cases in German is the same, with the exception of masculine singular nouns.

Use of the definite article

The definite article is placed before the noun:

1) denoting an object already mentioned earlier, or known to him To whom is the speech addressed:
Hier steht ein Tisch. Der Tisch ist rund. There is a table here. The table is round.
Die Hefte liegen neben dem Wörterbuch. The notebooks lie next to the dictionary.

2) denoting an object that is the only possible in a given situation:
Ist der Direktor schon da? Is the director already here?
Mein Kind kommt bald aus der Schule. My child will be home from school soon.

3) denoting an object that is one of a kind, this is:
a) names of celestial bodies:
die Sonne - the sun
der Mond - moon, month
die Erde - Earth
die Venus - Venus
der Merkur - Mercury, etc.;

b) names of countries of the world, seasons, months and days of the week:
der Norden - north
der Sommer - summer
der Januar - January
der Montag - Monday, etc.;

In combination Anfang, Ende, Mitte with the name of the month, the article is not used:
Anfang Januar fahren At the beginning of January we
wir ins Gebirge. We're going to the mountains.

c) names of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, for example:
der Stille Ozean - Pacific Ocean
das Schwarze Meer - Black Sea
der Don - Don
der Ladoga-See - Lake Ladoga;

The names of German rivers are usually feminine:
die Spree - Spree,
die Oder - Oder,
But:
der Rhein - Rhine,
der Main - Main,
der Neckar - - Neckar.

The names of Russian rivers usually have the same
gender, as in Russian:
die Newa - Neva,
die Wolga - Volga,
der Dnepr - Dnieper.

d) names of streets, squares, avenues:
der Newski-Prospekt der Roßplatz
die Käthe-Kolwitz-Straße, etc.;

e) names of mountains, winds, deserts:
der Ural - Ural
der Nordost - north-east
die Sahara - Sugar, etc.;

4) having a collective meaning:
die Menschheit - humanity
die Gesellschaft - society
die Studentenschaft - students, etc.;

5) having with it a definition expressed
a) superlative adjective or ordinal number:
die klügste Antwort - the smartest answer
der erste Schnee - first snow;

b) a defining subordinate clause or an infinitive group:
Der Brief, den ich gestern erhalten habe, ist von meinem Bruder. The letter I received yesterday is from my brother.
Ich habe den Wunsch, einmal das schöne Italien zu sehen. I have a desire to see beautiful Italy someday.

c) a noun in the genitive case or in the prepositional case form:
Die Familie meiner Schwester ist nicht groß. My sister's family is small.

Use of the indefinite article

The indefinite article is placed before the noun:

1) denoting an object from a number of similar ones, named for the first time and previously unknown to the person to whom the information is addressed:
Da steht ein Stuhl. Here is a chair.
Am Tisch sitzt ein Mädchen. A girl is sitting at the table.

2) acting as a direct object (i.e. an object in the accusative case without a preposition) after the verb haben ~ to have and the impersonal phrase es gibt - there is, there is:
Mein Freund hat einen Hund. My friend has a dog.
In der Stadt gibt es ein Theater und einen schönen Park. The city has a theater and a beautiful park.

The negative pronoun kein is always used as a negation in such sentences.

3) being a nominal part of a compound nominal predicate (predicative):
Düsseldorf ist eine Stadt am Rhein. Dusseldorf is a city on the Rhine.

4) in comparative phrases after the conjunction wie:
Sie sang wie ein Vogel. She sang like a bird.

No article

There is no article before a noun:

1) in the plural, if the singular noun is used with an indefinite article (the absence of an article indicates an indefinite set of named objects):
Da steht ein Haus. Da stehen Hauser. Here is the house. Here are the houses.

2) having with it a pronoun, cardinal number or prepositive definition, expressed by a proper name in the genitive case:
mein (dieses, jenes, jedes) Heft - my (this, that, any) notebook
vier Mädchen - four girls

3) acting as a predicative and expressing professional, social, party, etc. affiliation:
Ich hin Student I am a student.
Meine Mutter ist Rentnerin. My mother is a pensioner.

If a predicative noun has a definition, it is used with an indefinite article:
Er ist ein guter Student He is a good student.
If this definition is expressed by a superlative adjective or an ordinal number, the definite article is placed before the predicative noun:
Sie ist die beste (die erste) Schülerin. She is the best (first) student.

4) acting as a predicative in impersonal sentences naming various time periods:
Es war Herbst. It was autumn.
Es ist Abend. Evening.
Heute ist Montag. Today is Monday.

5) after the preposition ohne and the conjunction als (meaning “as, as”):
Übersetzen Sie bitte den Text ohne Wörterbuch! Please translate the text without a dictionary!

6) denoting a substance, material:
Trinken Sie Kaffee germ? Do you like coffee?
Zum Bau von Hochhäusern werden Beton, Stahl und Glas gebraucht. Concrete, steel and glass are used to build high-rise buildings.
Gold ist ein Edelmetall. Gold is a precious metal.

If a real noun has an agreed or inconsistent definition, and also if a certain part of a substance is meant, the same nouns are used with an article:

Die Milch, die du gekauft hast, ist sauer. The milk you bought is sour.

7) denoting qualities, properties, emotions, sensations:
Haben Sie Hunger? Are you hungry?
Der Junge fühlte wieder Mut. The young man again felt a surge of courage.

8) if there is an indication of measure, weight, degree, grade, quantity:

Kaufe ein Pfund Kaffee! Buy a pound of coffee!
Hole bitte ein Stück Kreide! Es war 25 Grad Kälte. Please bring me a piece of chalk! It was minus 25 degrees.

9) in addresses, headlines, set phrases, sayings and proverbs:

Kinder, hört aufmerksam zu! Children, listen carefully!
Ende gut - alles gut! The end is the crown of the matter.

Using the article in proper names

Some categories of proper names are used without an article, this is
a) personal names:
Eva, Martin, Goethe, Heine.
Personal names can be used with the definite article in casual conversational speech, when the subject of conversation is well-known persons, including famous writers, artists:
Der Franz kommt heute nicht. Franz won't come today.

The definite article is often placed before a surname, used in the plural form (with the ending -s) and denoting all or several family members:
Die Mayers sind eine glückliche Familie. The Mayers are a happy family.

b) names of cities, countries, continents, parts of the world of the neuter gender:
Dortmund, Italien, China, Europa, Afrika, Australien.

Geographical names referring to the masculine or feminine gender are used with the definite article:
der Chersones, die Mongolei,
der Libanon, die Türkei,
der Sudan, die Normandie,
der Iraq, die Schweiz.
der Iran,

Also used with the article geographical names, in the plural:
die Niederlande.

If there is a definition, all proper names are used with the definite article:
die kleine Eva - little Eva
der geniale Beethoven - the brilliant Beethoven
das ferne Australien - distant Australia
das mittelalterliche Europa - medieval Europe.

Oh, this German language - it contains such a phenomenon as articles. Articles in German are of the following types: definite, indefinite, negative, zero. Definite articles are die, das, der– each of which is responsible for a specific genus. The indefinite article is ein. Negative – kein.

How does the definite article in German differ from the indefinite article?

The indefinite article is placed before nouns, which have not yet been discussed - and which is mentioned for the first time. (Except for special cases, which you will read about below).

Das ist eine Katze. – It's a cat.

The definite article is used before a word that has already been discussed. Here we are again about the cat, but we met her in the last sentence, which means:

Die Katze ist schwarz. – This cat is black.

The indefinite article is also used if the speaker does not know at all whether there is an object that he needs in a given place at a given time: Wo ist hier ein Telefon?-Where is the phone here?

The definite article is used when you are asking for something specific, describing something specific, mentioning something specific.

Here's a comparison:

Gib mir ein Messer.

Gib mir das Messer.

What is the difference between these two examples? Both of them can be translated as: give me the knife. Only in the first option, the person asking doesn’t care what kind of knife they give him - any one will suit him. But in the second case: the person asking has in mind a specific knife that he sees - and maybe even points at.

Articles in German can also be inflected according to cases and numbers. Here's the definite article:

I will not tell you which words are used in which of the listed genders within the framework of this note. Wait for the next article about the gender of German nouns.

And here is the indefinite article:

The negative article is the same indefinite article, but with the letter k at the beginning. That's why I didn't want to draw a separate table... BUT! There is a very important difference between them. Therefore, catch the third sign:

Notice the main difference? That's right - the plural with a negative article is used!

By the way, read about negation in German.

Tables with declination of articles need to be known by heart - this the beginning of time, which will be very useful in the future. In principle, the endings of all the listed articles are similar - and there is nothing wrong with them. If you are really depressed and too lazy to learn this, try dropping the genetive - the last line in each tablet - you can make up for it later, but at first you can do without it.

And one more hint: a woman in dative and genitive turns into a man!

There are a few more rules: when it is necessary to use the definite article, and in which cases - the indefinite article. Sometimes the article is completely absent... These are the cases we will now consider.

The definite article in German

Definite article in German it is usually placed before:

• Famous buildings: das Brandenburger Tor – Brandenburg Gate der Eiffelturm – Eiffel Tower.
• one of a kind concepts : die Sonne- Sun, die Erde - Earth
• names of some countries: der Iraq, die USA
• geographical names : die Alpen– Alps, der Rhein– Rain
• names of organizations: das Finanzamt– financial department
• historical eras and events: die deutsche Wiedervereinigung – German reunification
• titles: der Papst- Pope, die Queen- queen
• superlative adjectives: der beste Schüler– best student

Indefinite article put:

• after the verbs haben, brauchen and the phrase es gibt: Hast du eine Schwester? - Do you have a sister?
• when comparing: Sie spricht Deutsch wie eine Deutsche.– She speaks German like a German.
• in designs: so ein, ein solcher, solch ein.

Zero article

The article is absent in the following cases:

• before nouns denoting material: aus Gold- made of gold, aus Wolle- made of wool
• before the names of languages: Deutsch- German, Italienisch – Italian
• before the names of most countries, names of cities and continents: Germany, Cologne, Africa
• when contacting: Kinder!!!– Deeeeti!!! Freunde!!!- Friends!!!
• in the names of religious holidays: Ostern- Easter, Weihnachten- Christmas.
• in stable combinations and proverbs: Übung macht den Meister– Practice makes perfect, zu Fuß- on foot
• often when listing: Neue Wohnhäuser, Schulen, Krankenhäuser wird gebaut. – New houses, schools, hospitals are being built.
• before uncountable nouns: Liebe- Love, Luft- air
• before proper names (although in some regions they really like to give human names definite articles): Guten Tag, Frau Müller!- Good afternoon, Frau Müller!
• before professions and nationalities in the following phrases: Sie ist Friseurin.- She is a hairdresser. Er ist Franzose. - He is French.

An article in German is a special part of speech that accompanies a noun. For many people starting to learn German, a very important part of speech - the article - is incomprehensible. There is no analogue in Russian for this part of speech. But in order to understand at least a little the importance of articles in the German language, you first need to understand why they are needed and what function they play.

In Russian we say: dogs A, dogs at, from dogs Ouch and so on.

In German, we can say that the role of our ending is played by the article. It shows the gender, case and number of the noun.

For example:

These are dogs A. - Das ist ein Hund.
I see dogs at- Ich sehe einen Hund.
He goes for a walk With dogs Ouch. - Er geht mit dem Hund spazieren.

As you may have noticed, endings do not change in German. Articles are used instead of endings. The German article is placed directly before a noun. If there is a definition before the noun, the article is placed before the definition.

Das ist ein interessantes Buch. - It's an interesting book.

What articles are there in German?

There are 4 types of articles in German:

indefinite article

definite article

zero article

negative article

Table of declination of the definite and indefinite article

There are four cases (Kasus) in German:

Nominative (nominative) wer? was? - Who? What?

Akkusativ (accusative) wen? was? - whom? What?

Dativ (dative) wem? welcher Sache? - to whom? what?

Genitiv (genitive) wessen? - whom? what?

In this table you see the forms of the definite and indefinite article for the masculine, neuter, feminine and plural. Please note that there is no indefinite article in the plural. The definite article in the plural is the same for all genders - DIE.

All nouns in German are writtencapitalized And used withuncertain or definitearticle. Sometimes the article is not used.

In German, the article not only gives information about the definiteness/indeterminacy of the noun, but also indicates the gender, number and case of the noun, bowing .

When to use which article?

On our website there is an opportunity pronunciation there is any German text. To do this simply highlight German text or a word anywhere on our site And click the "Play" button at the bottom right(white triangle in black circle). You will then hear the text spoken in German.

Indefinite article has the following forms:

ein- for the masculine singular - ein Hund (dog)
ein- for the neuter singular - ein Loch (hole)
eine- for the feminine singular - eine Maus (mouse)

But don't forget that these articles are inflected. If you forgot, look again at the article declination table.

In the plural, designations for unspecified persons or objects are used without an article.

Indefinite article ein or eine used

• with nouns, which we call for the first time:

Möchten Sie eine Banana? - Do you want ( one) banana?

Das ist ein Buch. - This is a book.
Das Buch ist sehr interessant. - This book is very interesting.

• after the verb haben if the noun is in the accusative case.

Ich habe einen Hund und eine Katze. -
I have ( one) dog and ( one) cat.

• after a speech turn es gibt(there is, there is)

In meiner Stadt gibt es einen Schönen Park und ein Theater. -
In my city there is (is available) ( one) beautiful park and ( one) theater.

• when there is a comparison and the conjunction wie (like) is used:

Sie singt wie ein Vogel. - She sings like a bird.

Definite article has the following forms:

der- for the masculine singular - der Hund (dog)
das- for the neuter singular - das Loch (hole)
die- for feminine singular - die Maus (mouse)
die- for the plural - die Hunde (dogs)

Definite article der, die or das used

• with nouns that we know, which we are not talking about for the first time.

Mmm, die Banane ist le cker. - Mmm, ( this) banana is delicious.

Das ist ein Buch. - This is a book.
Das Buch ist sehr interessant. - This book is very interesting.

• when talking about a subject, the only possible in this situation:

Ist der Director schon da? - Is the director already here?

Mein Kind kommt bald aus der Schule. - My child will come home from school soon.

Director at the company one, and the school the child goes to, too one.

• when talking about the only subject of a kind:

a) names of celestial bodies:

die Sonne - sun
der Mond - moon, month
die Erde - Earth
die Venus - Venus
der Merkur - Mercury, etc.;

b) names of countries of the world, seasons, months and days of the week:

der Norden - north
der Sommer - summer
der Januar - January
der Montag - Monday, etc.;

In combination Anfang, Ende, Mitte The article is not used with the name of the month:

Anfang Januar fahren wir ins Gebirge. - At the beginning of January we are going to the mountains.

c) names of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, for example:

der Stille Ozean - Pacific Ocean
das Schwarze Meer - Black Sea
der Don - Don
der Ladoga-See - Lake Ladoga;

d) names of streets, squares, avenues:

der Newski-Prospekt
der Roßplatz
die Käthe-Kolwitz-Straße, etc.;

e) names of mountains, winds, deserts:

der Ural - Ural
der Nordost - north-east
die Sahara - Sugar, etc.;

• with a superlative adjective or ordinal number:

die klügste Antwort - the smartest answer
der erste Schnee - first snow;

Use zero article You just have to memorize it!

• The article is missing when uncountable nouns And abstract concepts are something that cannot be touched or seen.

For example: Zeit- time, Lust- wish, Glück- happiness, Hunger- hunger and similar words.

It’s true, it’s impossible to calculate!

Ich habe Zeit- I have time.
Ich habe Hunger- I am hungry.

Also used without an article

• professions :

Ich bin Arzt- I am a doctor.
Meine Freundin ist Informatikerin. - My friend is a computer scientist.
Er ist Student. - He is a student.

nationality

Ich bin Russin. - I'm Russian.
Sie ist Spanierin. - She's Spanish.
Sie sind Chinese. - They are Chinese.

• religious affiliations

Ich bin Catholic. - I am Catholic.
Seid Ihr Buddhisten? -Are you Buddhists?
Sie sind Christen. - They are Christians.

• names of cities, countries and continents:

Ich komme aus Germany. - I am from Germany.
In einem Monat fahre ich nach Kiev. - In a month I will go to Kyiv.

Exceptions: die Schweiz (Switzerland), die Türkei (Turkey), die USA (USA), der Iran (Iran), die Niederlande (Netherlands) and others

materials and substances:

das Haus aus Holz- house made of wood
die Tasche aus Leder- leather bag
Trinken Sie Kaffee germ? - Do you like coffee?

diseases:

Ich habe Grippe. - I have the flu.
Er hat Fieber. - He has a fever.

in plural, if a singular noun is used with an indefinite article (the absence of an article indicates an indefinite set of named objects):

Da steht ein Haus. - Here is the house.
Da stehen Hauser. - Here are the houses.

We strongly recommend that you learn German nouns immediately with articles, since articles play an important role in the correct construction of sentences. For example, learn the word “lamp” not as “Lampe”, but as “die Lampe”.

In addition to the definite and indefinite articles, the German language also has a number of pronouns that carry information about the gender, number and case of the noun. These are demonstrative pronouns (dieser - this, jener - that, etc.), possessive pronouns(mein - mine, dein - yours, etc.) and a negative pronoun (negative article) kein. Such pronouns are used instead of the article and are declined as a definite or indefinite article.

Demonstrative pronouns are also declined like the definite article. dieser - this, jener - that, solcher - such is the interrogative pronoun