Posted by The German articles like those in English are not mandatorily used. But when used, they add life and definition to a sentence. Find out more…
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| 1. Definition of an article 2. Definite articles 3. Indefinite articles 4. Negation articles 5. Possessive articles 6. How to decline possessive articles |
An “Artikel” as it is called in deutsch, is an adjective that is used to indicate a noun by being either specific or generalizing. There are four categories of articles in German, namely;
- Definite articles (bestimmte Artikel)
- Indefinite articles (unbestimmte Artikel)
- Negation articles
- Possessive articles
In other to correctly understand the usage of the german articles, your knowledge of the two factors below is required;
- Gender of the noun
- The grammatical case of the noun
As a result of German having three gender classification of singular nouns (Masculine, Feminine and Neuter) and one classification of Plural nouns (which is the multiple of all singular nouns), there are four ways in total in which the examples of the German articles are translated. What this means is that, for instance; “The” which is the definite article, has four translations for each of the four grammatical case. The usage of these four categories of articles is determined by the four grammatical cases in German.
German Definite Articles
Definite articles also called bestimmte Artikel in German are used to specify a noun. In other words, they make it easy for a particular noun to be identified amongst other dissimilar nouns. The definite article in English is “the”. For instance “I want the bag”. What this means is that there are several items to be picked from but there is probably just one bag that you are pointing at or desiring. Unlike English language that has just one definite article, German definite articles are many. That means there are several translations for “the” in German. The definite articles are listed below.
| Cases | Mas. | Fem. | Neu. | Plu. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom Akk Dat Gen | Der Den Dem Des | Die Die Der Der | Das Das Dem Des | Die Die Den… n Des |
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. The cat is sleeping.—— die Katze schläft. 2. The cat is searching for the mouse.—— die Katze sucht die Maus. 3. The woman bakes bread for the children.—— die Frau bäckt den Kindern* Brot. 4. I am buying a car for the man’s brother.—— ich kaufe dem Bruder des Mannes ein Auto. |
Note that * is as a result of N-Deklination of Dative plural nouns.
Indefinite Articles
Indefinite articles otherwise called unbestimmte Artikel in deutsch, are used to pick a noun randomly. In other words, there are several similar items to be picked from. The indefinite articles in English are “a, an or any”. For example; “I want a book”.
| Cases | Mas. | Fem. | Neu. | Plu. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom Akk Dat Gen | Ein Einen Einem Eines | Eine Eine Einer Einer | Ein Ein Einem Eines | – – – – |
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. A man is coming.—— ein Mann kommt. 2. A woman is eating an apple.—— eine Frau isst einen Apfel 🍏. 3. A pupil is buying an umbrella for a teacher.—— ein Schüler kauft einem Lehrer einen Regenschirm ☔️. 4. He has the eyes of a girl.—— er hat die Augen eines Mädchens. |
German Negation Articles
Negation articles are used to express refusal or denial. The negative articles in English are; no, not, not a & not any.
| Cases | Mas. | Fem. | Neu. | Plu. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom Akk Dat Gen | Kein Keinen Keiner Keines | Keine Keine Keiner Keiner | Kein Kein Keinem Keines | Keine Keine Keinen..n Keiner |
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. No man is an island.—— kein Mensch ist eine Insel. 2. I don’t have an appointment .—— ich habe keinen Termin. 3. The woman is not helping any child.—— die Frau hilft keinem Kind. |
Possessive Articles
Possessive articles are used to express ownership. These articles are often referred to by other writers or bloggers as possessive adjectives but I call them articles because that’s what they are and most especially because all articles are actually adjectives so I don’t think there’s need to say this alone in particular is an adjective which makes it confusing for readers. The possessive articles in German are shown in the picture below.
| Subject pronouns | Object pronouns | Possessive Article | English article |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich du er sie es wir ihr sie Sie | mich/mir dich/dir ihn/ihm sie/ihr es/ihm uns/uns euch/euch sie/ihnen Sie/Ihnen | mein- dein- sein- ihr- sein- unser- euer- ihr- Ihr- | my your his her its our your their your |
How to decline possessive articles in German
Possessive articles in german always have endings. It is important to first of all study and memorize their stems and thereafter add the declension where necessary for each grammatical case. The choice of the ending is dependent on two factors which are;
- The gender classification of the noun
- The grammatical case of the noun
| Cases | Mas. | Fem. | Neu. | Plu. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom Akk Dat Gen | – en em es | e e er er | – – em es | e e en… n er |
| Usage |
|---|
| 1. I ate my brother’s food.—— ich habe das Essen meines Bruders gegessen. 2. My father is an engineer 👷♂️.—— mein Vater ist Ingenieur. 3. She took his umbrella.—— sie hat seinen Regenschirm genommen. 4. Susan is buying a gown for her daughter.—— Susan kauft ihrer Tochter ein Kleid. 5. I have your cell phones.—— ich habe eure Handys 📱📱. 6. Your boyfriend is coming.—— euer Freund kommt. (what this means is that two or more people share one boyfriend) 7. The school is sending a letter to your parents.—— die Schule schickt euren Eltern einen Brief. |
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