POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

Possessive adjectives are the possessive forms of the personal pronouns.

Grammaticall, these words operate similarly to the, this, that, etc.

The English forms are: In German the forms appear as follows: Please Note !!!

personal possessive personal possessive English

pronoun adjective pronoun adjective meaning

I my ich mein_ my not mine

you your du dein_ your (familiar singular) not yours

he his er sein_ his (its)

she her sie ihr_ her (its) not hers

it its es sein_ its (his, her)

we our wir unser_ our not ours

(you guys) (your) ihr euer_ your (familiar plural) not yours

they their sie ihr_ thier not theirs

(YOU) (your) Sie Ihr_ your - formal (singular and plural) not yours

The German possessive adjectives take endings based on the noun that follows.
Note there is also a zero ending (no ending) in masculine & neuter nominative as well as neuter accusative.
The zero ending is not written in German, however for demonstration purposes it is marked here with .

case & gender markers for possessive adjective (based on the accompanying noun)

masculine feminine neuter plural

nominative -e -e

accusative -en -e -e

dative -em -er -em -en

genitive -es -er -es -er

traits of possessive adjectives

- never stand alone, must always be followed by a noun

- always form a syntactic unit with the following noun (may include other adjectives - my beautiful daughter)
- take the case and gender markers based on the case and gender of the following noun (see and memorize chart above)
- belong to the series of so-called ein-words, that is, they behave exactly like ein- and kein- (all of which are determiners)
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (CONTINUED)

examples of possessive adjectives

My pen is broken. syntactic unit = my pen - pen = nom/masc

Mein Kugelschreiber ist kaputt. mein + (nom/masc = ) Kugelschreiber

I have her pen. syntactic unit = her pen - pen = acc/masc

Ich habe ihren Kugelschreiber. ihr + en (acc/masc = en) Kugelschreiber

Do you have his book? syntactic unit = his book - book = acc/neut
Hast du sein Buch? sein + (acc/neut = ) Buch

Their children are nice. syntactic unit = their children - children = nom/plur
Ihre Kinder sind nett. ihr + e (nom/plur = e) Kinder

Our family is large. syntactic unit = our family - family = nom/fem

Unsere Familie ist gro. unser + e (nom/fem = e) Familie

It is important to remember that possessive adectives take grammar endings based on the noun that they precede. Remember to
add the appropriate case and gender endings when using possessive adjectives. Study the following examples and notice all the
various endings. Please note that the is not written. It is used here as a reminder indicating a zero ending.

NOMINATIVE

masc. Sein Vater ist alt. (Sein Vater ist alt.) zero ending
fem. Seine Frau ist schn.
neut. Sein Kind ist nett. (Sein Kind ist nett.) zero ending
plur. Seine Eltern wohnen in Stuttgart.

ACCUSATIVE

masc. Der Vater liebt seinen Sohn.

fem. Der Junge macht eine Fete fr seine Freundin.
neut. Peter wscht sein Auto. (Peter wscht sein Auto.) zero ending
plur. Der Student schreibt seine Hausaufgaben.

DATIVE

masc. Heinrich geht mit seinem Vater in den Park.

fem. Der Professor fhrt mit seiner Frau nach Berlin.
neut. Hans macht mit seinem Kind einen Spaziergang.
plur. Der Nachbar wohnt bei seinen Kindern.

GENITIVE

masc. Das Buch seines Vaters ist sehr gro.

fem. Das Auto seiner Mutter ist nicht teuer.
neut. Das Spielzeug seines Kindes ist kaputt.
plur. Das Haus seiner Eltern ist sehr schn.
Adjective Endings

Definition of Adjective

An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Colors are adjectives (purple, pink, black, yellow, red, etc.)

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Words that describe the weather (cold, hot, windy, warm, rainy, etc.) are adjectives. Words that describe
people (tall, ugly, handsome, angry, happy, fat, skinny, etc.) are adjectives. Words that indicate the attributes
of nouns are adjectives. Any kind of word describing a noun is an adjective.

Types of Adjectives

There are two types of adjectives in German. These types are based on the position of the adjective in
relationship to the noun being described.

Predicate Adjectives:
An adjective following its noun is predicative. Predicate adjectives appear somewhere to the right of their
noun. Often, predicate adjectives are separated from their noun by a verb.

The newspaper subscription became expensive.

My clothes are old.
The weather turned warm.
Your friend appears to be interesting.
Never was the work so tedious.

Attributive Adjectives:
An adjective immediately preceding its noun is attributive. Attributive adjectives appear directly to the left
of their noun.

I rarely read my expensive newspaper.

These old clothes need to be thrown away.
The warm weather excited the tourist.
You have nothing but interesting friends.
Gleeful children ran down the beach.

Declension of Adjectives

Declension:
The term declension means attaching grammatical endings to adjectives and nouns. As verbs conjugate, so
do adjectives decline. The system is called declension. In German, predicate adjectives never take endings.
Only the attributive adjectives take endings. In more technical terms, predicate adjectives are not declined
whereas attributive adjectives are declined.

Undeclinable Adjectives:
In German, some adjectives never take endings, even if they are used attributively. rosa, lila, lauter are
examples of these adjectives, "rosa" is an undeclinable adjective, it never takes grammatical endings.
Undeclinable adjectives are fairly rare in German.

The adjectives viel & wenig:

The adjectives viel and wenig are typically not declined in the singular but decline in the plural.
viel: much, a lot of, many; wenig: not much, little, few, not many
 Adjective Endings in German 2
Self Directed Study Guide

Determiners
Determiners are words that act like adjectives, and help more specifically define or describe a noun. Words
such as this, that, the, a, my, your, each, and which are all determiners. There are eighteen determiners in
German. Memorize the following list of the eighteen determiners. Determiners are broken down into two

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categories: the der words and the ein words. These two categories are based on the different sets of
grammar endings associated with German determiners.

Der Words

Memorize the seven der words in German. The dash following each German der word represents the
point at which a grammar ending is attached to that word. Grammar endings for determiners are based on
the case and gender of the noun that a determiner describes. These words take primary endings.

d- the (definite article)

dies- this, that, these, those (in close proximity)
jen- this, that, these, those (far away)
jed- each, every
solch- such a, such, this kind of
manch- many a, there are those that
welch- which

Ein Words

There are eleven ein words in German. As with the der words, the dash following each German ein
word represents a grammar ending based on the case and gender of the noun following the ein word. The
indefinite article (a / ein) along with the possessive adjectives ( my, your, his / mein, dein, sein etc.)
belong to the group of determiners called ein words. These words take primary endings but also take a
ending when followed by a noun in masucline nominative, neuter nominative and neuter accusative.

ein- a, an (indefinite article)

kein- not a, not any, no (negation of indefinite article)
mein- my
dein- your (familiar, singular)
sein- his
ihr- her
sein- its
unser- our
euer- your (familiar, plural)
ihr- their
Ihr- your (formal, singular & plural)
 Adjective Endings in German 3
Self Directed Study Guide

Primary Endings
Memorize the following set of endings. Be sure to insert the appropriate vowel before r, s, n and m.

masc fem neut plur

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nom r e s e
acc n e s e
dat m r m n
gen s r s r

By saying these sounds in a row, it is much easier to memorize these endings:

reesy, neesy, mister man, sir sir
(reesy = r/e/s/e neesy = n/e/s/e mister man = m/r/m/n sir sir = s/r/s/r)

Keep in mind that we are not taking into account the endings for the ein words in masculine
nominative, neuter nominative, or neuter accusative. You will have to remember this exception.

Primary endings typically attach to determiners, but in some instances they attach to adjectives.

Examples of Primary Endings on determiners:

Remember that the grammar ending attached to a determiner identifies the case and gender of the noun
that follows that determiner. The gender of a noun must be memorized. The case of a noun is based on its
function in the sentence. Note the insertion of a vowel before endings r, s, n and m.

Kennst du den Professor? Professor = masculine accusative

Welches Buch ist das? Buch = neuter nominative

Ich fahre bald mit meinem Bruder nach Dresden. Bruder = masculine dative

Wir haben ohne eine Pause durchgearbeitet. Pause = feminine accusative

Diese Zeitungen sind interessant. Zeitungen = plural nominative

 Adjective Endings in German 4
Self Directed Study Guide

Secondary Endings
Memorize the following table. It is the set of secondary endings.

masc fem neut plur

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nom e e e n
acc n e e n
dat n n n n
gen n n n n

This chart can easily be memorized by simply reading the sounds from left to right.
eeen, neen, nnnn (eeen = e/e/e/n neen = n/e/e/n all the rest are n)

The secondary endings generally attach only to adjectives.

Examples of Secondary Endings on adjectives:

Kennst du die neuen Studenten? Studenten = plural accusative

Welches interessante Buch liest du jetzt? Buch = neuter accusative

Ich fahre bald mit meinem besten Freund nach Dresden. Freund = masculine dative

Wir haben mit einer kleinen Pause durchgearbeitet. Pause = feminine dative

Dieser alte Text ist interessant. Text = masculine nominative

 Adjective Endings in German 5
Self Directed Study Guide

The ending
Ein words preceding nouns in masculine nominative, neuter nominative and neuter accusative take a zero
ending. The ending is neither a primary nor a secondary ending. It is a zero ending.

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masc fem neut plur

nom
acc
dat

gen

Examples of Zero Endings on ein words:

Kennst du mein Kind? Kind = neuter accusative

Unser Buch ist interessant. Buch = neuter nominative

Wir haben kein Haus gekauft Haus =neuter accusative

Ein Student mu viel lesen. Student = masucline nominative

Ihr Grovater wohnt in Zwickau. Grovater = masucline nominative

Please note that is not used in German.

The is used here only for demonstration purposes.
In actual German, the zero ending is simply left blank.
 Adjective Endings in German 6
Self Directed Study Guide

The Three Principles

Prinzip I - The Basic Principle [determiner | adjective | noun]

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The determiner takes the primary ending.
The adjectives take the secondary ending.

Wir mchten einen neuen Wagen kaufen.

Sie wohnt bei ihrer alten Mutter.
Das nette junge Kind heit Elke.
Kennst du diese interessanten intelligenten Leute?
Er mu dem armen behinderten Mann helfen.
Wegen des schlechten Wetters gehen wir nicht in den Park.
Mut du an deinem neuen Auto arbeiten?

Prinzip II - Adjectives without Determiners [adjective | noun]

There is no determiner in front of the adjective.

The adjectives take the primary ending.

Ich trinke jeden Morgen heien starken Kaffee.

Warmes amerikanisches Bier schmeckt mir nicht.
Notice that adjectives are never capitalized,
even when they are derived from a proper noun.
Groe rote Tomaten wachsen im Garten.
Zum Abendessen machen wir oft belegtes Brot.
Wegen schlechter Regenstrrme mssen wir spter landen.
Guter deutscher Wein kommt mit dem Mittagessen.
Bei gutem Wetter gehe ich oft in den Park.

Prinzip III - ein words with ending [determiner | adjective | noun]

The determiner takes a zero ending.

This occurs only with ein words in:
nominative masculine nominative neuter accusasive neuter
See the declension of ein words above.
The adjectives take the primary ending.

Unser kleines junges Kind spielt jetzt im Park .

Kein normaler Mensch wohnt im Friedhof.
Ich habe ein groes kaltes Eis bestellt.
Sein altes Auto ist schon wieder kaputt.
Kommt ihr lieber Mann zu uns?
 Adjective Endings in German 7
Self Directed Study Guide

Other Concerns with Adjective Endings

Exception in Genitive [adjective | noun]

Adjectives always take the secondary ending preceding nouns in genitive masculine or genitive neuter.

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Even when there is no determiner in front of an adjective, those adjectives will still take the secondary
ending. Only masculine and neuter nouns take this exception, feminine and plural nouns follow all
expected patterns.

Wir werden am Anfang nchsten Monats eine Reise nach Quedlinburg machen.
Wegen schlechten Wetters mssen wir zu Hause bleiben.

Undeclinable Adjectives

Certain adjective (often of foreign origin) are undeclinable.

These adjectives never take any endings.
Other adjectives in the chain take the expected ending.
Some undeclinable adjectives are:
lila - purple/lilac colored
rosa - pink/rose colored

Sie hat ein neues lila Kleid gekauft.

Du trgst immer schne rosa Hemden.

Adjectives viel & wenig

The adjectives viel & wenig are not typically declined in the singular.
In the plural, these two adjectives follow the normal pattern.
Other adjectives in the chain take the expected ending.

Ich trinke viel starken heien Kaffee.

Du trinkst wenig kalten Tee.
Wenige Leute haben die Ausstellung besucht.
Er hat seine Wohnung mit vielen kleinen Bildern ausgestattet.

Predicate Adjectives

Predicate adjectives are undeclined. That means, predicate adjectives take no endings.
Predicate adjectives follow the noun they describe.

Dieser Wein ist nicht rot , sondern er ist wei .

Weit du, ob das Wetter hei sein soll?
Im Winter kann das Wetter kalt werden.
Obwohl die Frau alt wird, ist sie noch schn geblieben.
 Adjective Endings in German 8
Self Directed Study Guide

Adjective Endings Overview of the 3 Principles

primary endings secondary endings endings on ein words

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masc fem neut plur masc fem neut plur masc fem neut plur

nom r e s e e e e n

acc n e s e n e e n

dat m r m n n n n n

gen s r s r n n n n

Prinzip I - determiner takes primary ending & all adjectives take secondary ending

DETERMINER + PRIM ADJECTIVE + SEC ADJECTIVE + SEC NOUN

Das schne, alte Haus steht an der Ecke. The beautiful old house is on the corner.

Die neuen, jungen Studenten haben viel zu lernen. The young new students have a lot to learn.

Prinzip II - no determiner & all adjectives take primary ending

(Exception: Adjectives in genitive-masculine & genitive-neuter always take secondary endings.)

ADJ + PRIM ADJ + PRIM NOUN

Schnes, warmes Wetter gefllt mir. I like beautiful warm weather.

Im Winter schmeckt starker heier Kaffee gut. In winter, strong, hot coffee tastes good.

Prinzip III - determiner takes ending & all adjectives take primary ending
This occurs only for ein words in: 1) nom. masc. 2) nom. neut. 3) acc. neut.

EIN + ADJ + PRIM ADJ + PRIM NOUN

Ein schnes, altes Haus steht an der Ecke. A beautiful old house is on the corner.

Ich habe ihr neues, rotes Auto noch nicht gesehen. I havent seen her new red car yet.
 Adjective Endings in German 9
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Helpful Charts

Definite Articles

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This chart contains all the grammar forms for the definite articles. These forms are based on the case and
gender of the noun that follows the definite article.

masc fem neut plur

nom der die das die

acc den die das die
dat dem der dem den
gen des der des der

Ein Words

This chart contains all the grammar endings for the ein words. These endings are based on the case and
gender of the noun that follows the ein word. The symbol represents a zero ending. The zero ending
is not written in German. The helps remind you when zero endings occur.

masc fem neut plur

nom - -e - -e
acc -en -e - -e
dat -em -er -em -en
gen -es -er -es -er
Co m p a ra tiv e s a n d Su p e rla tiv e s in Ge rm a n - An In tro d u c tio n

Positive (base form)

The base form of an adjective is called the positive form.
If the adjective comes to the left of the noun, then that adjective is called an attributive adjective and takes grammar endings.
If the adjective appears somewhere to the right of the noun, then it is a predicate adjective and takes no endings.

Mein neues Fahrad hat viel gekostet. My new bicycle cost a lot. (attributive adjective with grammar endings)
Mein Fahrrad ist neu. My bicycle is new. (predicate adjective with no endings)
Wir arbeiten an dem alten Projekt. We are working on the old project. (attributive adjective with grammar endings)
Das Projekt ist schon viel zu alt. That project is already much too old. (predicate adjective with no endings)

Comparative
The form used for comparisons is call the comparative for both adjectives and adverbs.
The comparative marker is -er for German adjectives and adverbs. The adverb noch (even) occurs frequently with comparatives.
Many monosyllabic adjectives in the comparative take Umlaut (such as lter, jnger, grer, etc.) and must be memorized.
The German word for than (better than, older than, smaller than, etc.) is als.
Comparative adjectives when used attributively take grammatical endings in addition to the comparative marker.
There are a few irregular forms that must be memorized. The most notable are:
gut 6 besser good 6 better (in the sense of ability or quality)
viel 6 mehr much/a lot 6 more (in the sense of quantity)
gern 6 lieber (no English equivalent) gladly 6 more gladly (in the sense of showing preference - to prefer)
bald 6 eher soon 6 sooner

Mein Bruder ist lter als meine Schwester.
Ist dein Leben noch interessanter als meines?
Matthias hat das kleinere Auto gekauft.
Diesmal habe ich einen noch lngeren Aufsatz geschrieben.
Sie spricht Deutsch noch besser als English.
Ich trinke Wein noch lieber als Bier.
Hast du noch mehr Geld?
My brother is older than my sister. (predicative - takes no endings)
Is your life even more interesting than mine? (predicative - no endings)
Matthias bought the smaller car. (attributive - takes endings)
This time I wrote a longer composition. (attributive - takes endings)
She speaks German better than English. (adverb - no endings)
I like wine better than beer. (lieber =preference - I prefer wine to beer.)
Do you have more money. (mehr is not declinable.)

Superlative
Adjectives can be used to indicate that an item has a superior quality above all the other items being compared.
The form of the adjective used to express this notion is called the superlative.
Superlative adjectives take the marker -st or -est in German.
Predicate adjectives in the superlative take the set form am sten. This form is also used for superlative adverbs.
Attributive adjectives in the superlative must take the definite article (der, die, das) along with grammar endings.
There are a few irregular forms in the superlative, and they must be memorized. The most notable are:
gut 6 best good 6 best (in the sense of ability or quality)
viel 6 meist much/a lot 6 most (in the sense of quantity)
gern 6 liebst (no English equivalent) gladly 6 most gladly (in the sense of showing preference - to prefer)
bald 6 ehest soon 6 soonest

Findest du Deutsch am schwierigsten?
Ist English die einfachste Sprache?
Der beste Autor im 17. Jahrhundert war Goethe.
Bill Gates hat das grte Einkommen.
Die meisten Studenten mssen arbeiten.
Meine Katze schlft die meiste Zeit.
Kirsten trinkt Bier am liebsten.
Do you think German is the most difficult? (predicate - set form: am sten)
Is English the easiest language? (attributive - takes endings)
The best author in the 17th century was Goethe. (attributive - takes endings)
Bill Gates has the biggest income. (attributive - takes endings)
Most students have to work. (attributive - takes endings)
My cat sleeps most of the time. (attributive - takes endings)
Kirsten likes beer best. (shows preference; adverb - set form: am sten)
Adjektive, Adverbien und ihre Steigerungsformen
Englisch Positiv Komparativ Superlativ

old alt lter ltest

young jung jnger jngst
new neu neuer neust (note spelling)
tall (people) / big (things) gro grer grt
short (people) / small (things) klein kleiner kleinst
cheap / inexpensive billig billiger billigst
expensive teuer teurer (note spelling) teuerst
dangerous gefhrlich gefhrlicher gefhrlichst
safe, secure sicher sicherer sicherst
fast, quick schnell schneller schnellst
slow langsam langsamer langsamst
soon bald eher ehest
interesting interessant interessanter interessantest
boring langweilig langweiliger langweiligst
big, large (things) gro grer grt
little / small klein kleiner kleinst
loud laut lauter lautest
quiet / softly leise leiser leisest
pretty / handsome schn schner schnst
ugly hsslich hlicher hlichst
long lang lnger lngst
short (length) kurz krzer krzest
difficult schwierig schwieriger schwierigst
easy einfach einfacher einfachst
heavy (difficult - Ugs.) schwer schwerer schwerst
light (easy - Ugs.) leicht leichter leichtest
cold kalt klter kltest
hot hei heier heiest
warm warm wrmer wrmst
cool khl khler khlst
rough, coarse grob grber grbst
smooth glatt glatter glattest
intelligent intelligent intelligenter intelligentest
stupid, dumb dumm dmmer dmmst
strong (fat - Ugs.) stark strker strkst
weak schwach schwcher schwchst
good, well (ability) gut (good / well) besser (better) best (best)
bad schlecht schlechter (worse) schlechtest (worst)
dear, gladly gern lieber (prefer) liebst (like the best)
much, a lot viel mehr (more) meist (most)
(un)healthy (un)gesund (un)gesnder (un)gesndest
(un)athletic (un)sportlich (un)sportlicher (un)sportlichst
lazy faul fauler faulst
hard working, industrious fleiig fleiiger fleiigst
high, tall (things) hoh / hoch * hher hchst

Ugs. (Umgangssprache) - only in spoken German * The attributive form of high is hoh, the predicative form is hoch.
Adjektive und ihre Gegenstze
(A sampling of Adjectives and their Counterparts)

1. schnell langsam fast slow

2. hei kalt hot cold

3. schlecht gut bad good

4. hoh_ (hoch) tief / niedrig tall (objects) deep / low

5. interessant langweilig interesting boring

6. warm khl warm cool

7. dick schlank fat slender

8. stark schwach strong weak

9. alt jung old young

10. intelligent dumm intelligent dumb

11. neu alt new old

12. billig teur_ (teuer) cheap expensive

13. klein gro short (people) tall (people) big (objects)

14. hsslich schn ugly pretty, handsome

15. nass trocken wet dry

16. lang kurz long short (time/distance)

17. lustig traurig funny sad

18. nett bse nice naughty, nasty, evil

19. reich arm rich poor

20. dunkel hell dark light

21. schweigsam redsam quiet talkative

22. ruhig laut quiet noisy

23. glatt grob smooth rough

24. wertlos wertvoll worthless valuable

25. normal komisch normal strange