Reviewing the use of the definite article:

 

The Definite Article
	Masc.	Fem.	Neut	Pl.
Nom.	der	die	das	die
Acc.	den	die	das	die
Gen.	des	der	des	der
Dat.	dem	der	dem	den

 

Here are some examples, showing all of the cases listed in the table.

NOMINATIVE

Der Karton steht auf ihrem Nähtisch. The cardboard box is standing on her sewing-table.

Die Wand war voller Flecken. The wall was covered with stains.

Das Bett stand in der Ecke. The bed stood in the corner.

Die Eltern hatten mir Gelt hinterlassen. The (my) parents had left me money.

ACCUSATIVE

Sie brachte mir den Kaffee ins Zimmer. She brought the coffee to me in the room. (in das is replaced by ins, and is also accusative.)

Ich hatte die Lust, arbeiten zu gehen. I had the desire to go to work.

Ich mietete das Zimmer. I rented the room.

Ich drückte die Zigaretten an der Wand aus. I pressed the cigarettes out on the wall.

 

GENITIVE

Ich musste viele Bilder des Sohnes in die Hand nehmen. I had to take many pictures of the (her) son into my hand.

die linke Brust der Nixe - the left breast of the mermaid

die Schritte des Mädchens - the footsteps of the girl

die Flecke der Zigaretten - the stains of the cigarettes

 

DATIVE

aus dem Krieg - from the war

in der Stadt - in the city

im Frühjahr - in the spring (in dem is replaced by im)

die Flecke von den Zigaretten - the stains of the cigarettes

Vocabulary:

der Karton (-s) carton, cardboard box (end-stressed, nasal French borrowing)

like: der Beton - concrete

der Nähtisch (-e) sewing-table; näh[en] to sew + der Tisch

voller (invariable adjective) full of; voller Flecken - covered with stains

der Fleck (-e or sometimes -en) spot; stain

hinter-lassen - leave behind; (lassen – ließ – gelassen)

mieten rent

die Zigarette (-n) cigarette

die Nixe (-n) mermaid

der Schritt (-e) [foot]step

das Frühjahr spring

der Wirt (-e) innkeeper; landlord; die Wirtin (-nen) landlady

schwingen (schwang, geschwungen) swing

das Schwert (-er) sword
die Tischdecke (-n) table-cloth

Use of Cases:

The nominative case is the case of the subject. Das Bett stand in der Ecke. When a word appears alone, outside of any prior context, as for instance in the main entry of a dictionary, the nominative case is appropriate. Certain verbs can take a so-called predicate nominative. Sein, werden, bleiben, heißen and scheinen take the nominative case in the predicate. The nominative case is never used for the object of a preposition.

 

The accusative case. A great many German verbs, aside from the so-called “dative” verbs, take an accusative object, which corresponds to the English direct object. Sie brachte mir den Kaffee. Also, the prepositions bis, durch, für gegen, ohne, um, wider and entlang, require an object in the accusative case. [This list should be memorized.] Whenever there is motion toward a goal, the two-way prepositions use a prepositional object in the accusative case. Additionally, über, when it means ‘about’, takes its object in the accusative case. Ich will etwas über dieses Buch erklären. I want to explain something about this book.

 

The genitive case is used to express possession. Ich nahm die Bilder des Sohnes in der Hand. There are four frequently-used prepositions which also use objects in the genitive case: [an]statt, trotz, während and wegen.

 

The dative case is used to express the indirect object of advantage or disadvantage. Wie geht es Ihnen? How are you doing? Josef, dem Polizisten geht es immer schlechter. Josef, the policeman, is doing worse and worse. The dative case is also required by so-called “dative” verbs: helfen, dienen, folgen, etc.. Certain prepositions exclusively use the dative case and they should be memorized. They are aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu. Gegenüber also belongs in this list, though it is less frequently seen, and often follows its dative object. When there is no motion toward a goal, the two-way prepositions use a prepositional object in the dative case.

 

The two-way prepositions are: an, auf, über, unter, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen, in.

They are all easily recognized and may be used either as static locations with the dative case, or as targets of “motion toward a goal” with the accusative case. DO recognize them and be able to use them correctly, but don’t memorize them as a list unless you are a glutton for punishment.

Special endings on nouns:

 

Endings on Nouns
	Masc.	Fem.	Neut	Pl.
Nom.	- -	- -	- -	- -
Acc.	- -	- -	- -	- -
Gen.	-(e)s	- -	-(e)s	- -
Dat.	- -	- -	- -	-(e)n

 

For mainstream* German nouns, special endings are required as follows.

1.     GENITIVE
Masculine singular and neuter singular nouns add –s or –es in the genitive case.
viele Bilder des Sohnes
die Schritte des Mädchens

2.     DATIVE
Plural nouns add –n or –en in the dative case. If the noun already ends in –n, nothing is added. If the noun was pluralized with –s, nothing is added.
Er schwang das Schwert in den Händen
Eine Tischdecke lag unter den Kartons.

* 99% of German nouns follow these rules. N-declension masculine nouns, and adjectival nouns are not included here.

The prerequisite to using nouns in German:

Learning the GENDER together with the PLURAL FORM of each noun, provides one with the required information:

o      der Sohn (¨-e)

o      das Mädchen (-)

o      die Hand (¨-e)

o      der Karton (-s)

 

How does one recognize that a noun is NOT in the 99% mainstream?

·        An N-declension masculine noun will look something like this, depending on your dictionary:

o      Junge m (-n, -n) boy

o      Polizist m (-en, -en) policeman

·        An adjectival noun will look something like this:

o      Deutsche(r) m/f German

o      Angestellte(r) m/f employee