DETERMINERS Overview and Charts

There are seven so called der words in German: The der words take the f0llowing case & gender markers:
m f n pl
d- the (definite article)
welch- what, which nominative r e s e
dies- this
jed- each, every, all the (+ sg. noun) accusative n e s e
solch- such, this kind of
manch- some, there are those that dative m r m n
jen- that, those over there
genitive s r s r

Insert e before consonant endings.

Exception: The definite article in neut. nom. & neut. acc. is das.

There are eleven so called ein words in German The ein words take the following case & gender markers:
m f n pl
ein- a, an (indefinite article)
kein- not a, no nominative e e
mein- my
dein- your accusative n e e
sein- his
dative m r m n
ihr- her
sein- its (possessive adjectives) genitive s r s r
unser- / unsr- our
euer- / eur- your
Insert e before consonant endings.
ihr- their
The indicates a zero ending on ein words.
Ihr- your

All determiners have the following traits:

They can not stand alone. They must precede a noun. Examine the German examples below.
They must take case & gender markers based on that noun. Try creating your own sentences.
Only one determiner can precede a noun, no more.) Be sure to identify the case and gender of every noun!
Determiners form a syntactic unit with their noun.

1. I'm drinking no coffee. (I'm not drinking coffee.) 1. Ich trinke keinen Kaffee.
2. What table are you buying. (which table) 2. Welchen Tisch kaufst du?
3. This book is interesting. 3. Dieses Buch ist interessant.
4. My brother is sick. 4. Mein Bruder ist krank.
5. Do you know my husband? 5. Kennst du meinen Mann?
6. Do you know my wife? 6. Kennst du meine Frau?
7. Many students are lazy. 7. Manche Studenten sind faul.
(There are those students who are lazy.)
8. What book are you reading? (which book) 8. Welches Buch liest du?
9. All the students are working. (Each student works.) 9. Jeder Student arbeitet.
10. Where is your car (you guys) ? 10. Wo ist euer Auto?
11. I don't have any money. (I have no money.) 11. Ich habe kein Geld.
12. What students are here? (which students?) 12. Welche Studenten sind hier?
13. We are giving my father a pen. 13. Wir geben meinem Vater einen Kugelschreiber.
14. They are showing our children a movie. 14. Sie zeigen unsren Kindern einen Film.
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.