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Definite Articles - Summary

Here is a survey of the definite articles declined in the four cases. The article always stands in front of the noun and helps to recognize the case of the noun which it accompanies as the noun itself does not necessarily reveal it. It is the best if you learn the declined forms of the definite article by heart. Every case has only one plural form.

Number:   Singular     Plural
Gender:   masculine feminine neuter  
Case: Nominative der Mann m sg die Frau f sg das Kind nt sg die Männer m pl
           
  Genitive des Mannes m sg der Frau f sg des Kindes nt sg der Männer m pl
           
  Dative dem Mann m sg der Frau f sg dem Kind nt sg den Männern m pl
           
  Accusative den Mann m sg die Frau f sg das Kind nt sg die Männer m pl

 

Examples of the different cases

The nominative is the first case. We use the nominative form of the definite article if it accompanies a noun which represents the subject of the sentence. The subject is the acting part of the sentence which the predicate (the conjugated form of the verb) refers to.

Nominative (Subject): German Phonetic Script English
Question: Who is doing sth? Die Frau f spricht Deutsch. [di: frau ʃprɪçt dɔytʃ] The woman speaks German.

 

The genitive is the second of the German cases. We use the genitive form of the definite article if it accompanies a noun which represents the genitive object of a sentence. Here are some verbs and prepositions which are followed by the genitive. Then we have a genitive object.

Genitive (Object): German Phonetic Script English
Question: Who(m) do I remember? Ich gedenke des Freundes m. [ɪç gə'dɛŋkə dɛs 'frɔyndəs] I remember the friend.
Example Verb jemandes (jds) gedenken ['je:mandəs gə'dɛŋkən] to remember someone

The genitive attribute is a construction of two nouns of which one noun stands in the genitive case. This is the noun which mostly indicates the owner.

Genitive (Attribute): German Phonetic Script English
Question: Whose dress is red? Das Kleid nt des Mädchens f ist rot. [das klait dɛs 'mɛ:tçəns ɪst ro:t] The dress of the girl is red.

 

The dative is the third case. We use the dative form of the definite article if it accompanies a noun which represents the indirect object of a sentence. In German it is called dative object. Very often a person receives something. Some German verbs and prepositions are followed by the dative case.

Dative (Object): German Phonetic Script English
Question: Who(m) do I trust? Ich vertraue dem Jungen m. [ɪç fɛɐ'trauə de:m 'jʊŋən] I trust the boy.
Example Verb jemandem (jdm) vertrauen ['je:mandəm fɛɐ'trauən] to trust someone
The dative object corresponds to the indirect object.

Please remember:

Case + Definite Article Preposition   Definite Article Melting
Dative + Masculine/Neuter Definite Article an + dem = am
Dative + Masculine/Neuter Definite Article bei + dem = beim
Dative + Masculine/Neuter Definite Article in + dem = im
Dative + Masculine/Neuter Definite Article von + dem = vom
Dative + Masculine/Neuter Definite Article zu + dem = zum
Dative + Feminine Definite Article zu + der = zur

 

The accusative is the fourth of the German cases. We use the accusative form of the definite article if it accompanies a noun which represents the direct object of a sentence. In German we call it accusative object. Most of the German verbs and prepositions are followed by the accusative case.

Accusative (Object): German Phonetic Script English
Question: Who(m) do I hear? Ich höre den Hund m bellen. [ɪç ˈhø:rə de:n hʊnt 'bɛlən] I hear the dog barking.
Example Verb jemanden (jdn) hören ['je:mandən ˈhø:rən] to hear someone
The accusative object corresponds to the direct object.

Please remember:

Case + Definite Article Preposition   Definite Article Melting
Accusative + Neuter Definite Article an + das = ans
Accusative + Neuter Definite Article in + das = ins

 

If you have already been learning German somewhere else - at school or university or elsewhere - and if you are insecure which case is used with the verb you want to use, then look it up in a dictionary:

Object Form Dictionary Meaning Phonetic Script English
Genitive: jds gedenken jemandes (jds) gedenken ['je:mandəs gə'dɛŋkən] to remember someone
Dative: jdm vertrauen jemandem (jdm) vertrauen ['je:mandəm fɛɐ'trauən] to trust someone
Accusative: jdn hören jemanden (jdn) hören ['je:mandən ˈhø:rən] to hear someone

Have a look if the verb stands with jds (genitive), jdm (dative) or jdn (accusative).