Weak declension of adjectives in German table. German adjectives and adverbs. Weak declension of adjectives

I.G. Knyazeva, teacher of German, MBOU secondary school No. 15 st. Rogovskoy

Declension types of adjectives in German

An adjective before a noun is declined in mixed, weak or strong declension. It depends on what comes before the adjective.

Weak declension of adjectives

If an adjective is preceded by a definite article or a pronoun that changes like a definite article ( jeder - every, dieser - this, jener - that) then the adjective receives weak endings: -e or -en

	masculine	Feminine gender	Neuter gender	Mn. number

Thus, in the weak declension of German adjectives, you need to remember 5 in (3 o in Nominativ and 2 e in Akkusativ), and the remaining endings in both singular and plural - en.

According to the weak declension, plural adjectives (i.e. -en) also change after possessive pronouns and pronouns alle and kein:

N. meine neuen Hefte
G. meiner neuen Hefte
D. meinen neuen Hefte
A. meine neuen Hefte

Strong declension of adjectives

If nothing stands before the adjective, then the adjective itself takes on the endings of the definite article, that is, it declines according to a strong declension. The exception is Genitiv for masculine and neuter, where adjectives receive a weak ending -en:

Cases	masculine	Feminine gender	Neuter gender	Mn. number

After viele and quantitative adjectives are declined in German according to the strong declension:

N. viele gute Bucher
G. vieler gutter Bucher
D. vielen guten Buchern
A. viele gute Bucher

Mixed declension of adjectives

If an adjective is preceded by an indefinite article or a possessive pronoun ( mein , dein , sein , ihr , unser , euer , Ihr ), then the adjective in Nominativ and Akkusativ receives the endings of the definite article, and in Genitiv and Dativ the endings -en. Adjectives are also inflected after a negative pronoun. kein

Cases	masculine	Feminine gender	Neuter gender	Mn. number
	mein gutter Freund	unsere alte Schule	Kein Dickes Buch	meine neuen Hefte
	meines guten Freundes	unserer alten Schule	keines-dicken-buch	meiner neuen Hefte
	meinem guten Freund	unserer alten Schule	Keinem Dicken Buch	meinen neuen Heften
	meinen guten Freund	unsere alte Schule	Kein Dickes Buch	meine neuen Hefte

plural after kein and possessive pronouns - the ending of adjectives - en .

If the adjective is substantiated, i.e. acts as a noun (for example: acquaintance), then it still obeys all the rules of a regular adjective, only it is written with a capital letter. The declension of such an adjective in German depends on what is in front of it: a definite article, an indefinite article, or nothing.

Cases	Weak skl.	Mixed skl.	Strong skl.	Plural number

Without adjectives, any speech will be dry and inexpressive. It is this part of speech that helps to describe objects, and in German adjectives have their own characteristics, which you will learn about in this lesson.

So, the adjective is a part of speech that denotes the quality or property of an object and changes in cases, numbers and genders. The adjective answers the questions "welcher?" - what?, "welches?" - what ?, "welche?" - what ?, "was fur ein?" - which the? In German, an adjective is declined when it precedes a noun.

There are three types of adjective declensions in German:
1. Strong declination;
2. Weak declination;
3. Mixed declension.

Consider the features of each of them.

Strong declension of adjectives (Starke Deklanation)

According to the strong type of declension, adjectives without an article change. Study the table carefully:

Singular

	masculine	Neuter gender	Feminine gender
Nom.	Guther Kaffee	gutes brot	gute Butter
Gen.	Guten Kaffee	guten brot	gutter Butter
Dat.	Gutem Kaffee	Gutem Brot	gutter Butter
Akk.	Guten Kaffee	gutes brot	gute Butter

As you can see, adjectives get the same endings that the definite article has - the only exception is the genitive masculine and neuter: here the ending "en" appears. Without the article, the adjective takes on the function of distinguishing the case, and that is why it changes as shown in the table.
Plural adjectives, as you might guess, behave the same way:

Plural

In the plural, adjectives receive the plural endings of the definite article. However, it is important to remember that the indefinite pronouns before them receive the same endings. These places include:
viele (many)
 einige (some, few)
 mehrere (several)
 wenige (little, little)
manche (some, many)

Do not confuse "viel" and "viele"! Very often, where "many" (viele) is used, we are used to saying "many" (viel). For example: Sie isst zu viel - She eats too much. Er hat viele Freunde. - He has a lot of friends.

Weak declension of adjectives (Swache Deklanation)

If adjectives are preceded by a definite article, then they change according to the weak type of declension. The mixed type is a combination of the previous two types, because some of the case endings coincide with the endings of the weak declension type, and some with the endings of the strong type.
Singular

	masculine	Neuter gender	Feminine gender
Nom.	der gute Tag	das gute Kind	die gute Frau
Gen.	des guten Tag	des guten Kind	der guten Frau
Dat.	dem guten Tag	dem guten Kind	der guten Frau
Akk.	den guten Tag	das gute Kind	die gute Frau

As you can see, there are very few endings: "e" and "en". Moreover, the adjective receives the ending “en” when the ending of the article also changes.
With the plural, everything is also easy. Only the ending "en" is used here:

Plural

Nom. guten freunde
Gen. guten freunde
Dat. guten freunde
Akk. guten freunde

Adjectives change according to the weak type of declension in the following cases:
- after the definite article;
 demonstrative pronouns dieser (this), jener (that);
 after indefinite pronouns jeder (everyone);
 after the pronouns alle (all), solche (such), beide (both);
 after interrogative pronouns welche;
 after the negative pronoun keine;
- after possessive pronouns.

Mixed declension (Gemischte Deklination)

This type of declension is relevant only for adjectives in the singular. This is explained simply: adjectives are used with the indefinite article, and the indefinite article has no plural form.

	masculine	Neuter gender	Feminine gender
Nom.	ein gutter Tag	ein gutes Kind	eine gute Frau
Gen.	eines guten Tag	eines guten Kind	einer guten Frau
Dat.	einem guten Tag	einem guten Kind	einer guten Frau
Akk.	einen guten Tag	ein gutes Kind	eine gute Frau

According to the weak type of declension, adjectives change after the indefinite article, possessive pronouns and after kein.

Tasks for the lesson

Exercise 1. Decline phrases.

Singular: der kluge Mann, jenes gute Kind, junge Frau
Mn. number: die guten Eltern, schöne Häuser, deine nahe Freunde

Exercise 2. Choose viel or viele.
1. Sie liest … . 2. Sie haben…. Verwandte. 3. Da sind…Studenten. 4. … Leute kamen zur Party. 5. Auf dem Tisch gibt es ... Bücher. 6. Meine Schwester isst nothing ... .

Answer 1.
Unit number:

Answer 2.
1. viel 2. viele 3. viele 4. viele 5. viele 6. viel

Adjectives in German are declined if and only if they come before a noun:

Red th table - rot er Tisch
red omu table - rot em Tisch

There are three types of adjective declension:

1. Strong inclination.
2. Weak decline.
3. Mixed declension.

How to understand by what type this or that adjective is inclined in a particular case?

1. If an adjective comes before a noun without an accompanying word, then it is declined according to the strong type.
2. If there is an accompanying word, but ambiguously shows the gender, number and case, then the adjective is declined in a mixed type.
3. If there is an accompanying word and unambiguously shows the gender, number and case, then the adjective is declined according to the weak type.

strong declination

IMPORTANT!
In the plural, the words: Viele (many), Einige (several), Wenige (little), Zweie, dreie usw (two, three, etc.) acquire a generic/case ending and do not affect the ending of the adjective ( both parts of speech receive the ending of the definite article):

Viel e gut e Eltern (Nom.) - many good parents
Viel e gut e Eltern (Akk.) - many good parents
Wenig en gut en Eltern (Dat.) - few good parents
Einig er gut er Eltern (Gen.) - some good parents

Weak declension of adjectives

IMPORTANT!

1. In the plural after the words alle (all), sämtliche (in the meaning of alle) and beide (both) in all cases, adjectives get a neutral ending<-en>, while alle and beide also receive the plural case ending (the ending of the definite article).

Alle mein en Freunde (Nom.)
Alle dein en Freunde (Akk.)
All en dein en Freunde (Dat.)
All er sein en Freunden (Gen.)

2. The definite article, demonstrative pronoun and interrogative pronoun - parts of speech are mutually exclusive and are not used simultaneously with the same noun:

Der gute Vater - Diese gute mutter (correct)
Der dieser gute Vater - Jede die gute Mutter ( not right)

3. Different parts of speech can act as an accompanying word, but all of them unambiguously show the gender and number of the noun already in Nominativ.

NOTE!
In compound demonstrative pronouns (derselbe, derjenige…), the definite article is merged with the demonstrative word, which means that both parts of the word are declined. In this case, the article part is declined as a definite article, and the adjective part, as an adjective:

D er selb e gut e Film - the same good film
D ie selb en gut en Filme - the same good films

mixed declension

IMPORTANT!
In the plural, the indefinite article EIN is not used.

Declension of homogeneous adjectives

Homogeneous adjectives before a noun are declined in the same way:

Ein klein es neu es House / Das klein e neu e house
Klein e neu e Hauser / Die klein en neu en Hauser

Declension of compound adjectives

When an adjective consists of several (is a multi-root or compound word), the ending is placed only at the end of the word:

Mathematician-naturwissenschaftlich es Thema - strong declension
das mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlich e Thema - weak declension
ein mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlich es Thema - mixed declension

Declension of adjectives before substantiated adjectives

If in a sentence an adjective describes a substantiated adjective (Der Deutsche, Die Kranke, Die Verwandten), then the ending of the definition is selected according to the general rule: either the adjective itself (definition) or the word accompanying it must determine the gender, number and case of the noun. Gender, number and case are shown in the phrase once. At the same time, the substantiated adjective receives neutral endings<-е>or<-еn>:

Der Kranke - sick
Der arm e Krank e- poor patient
Ein e arm e Krank e- (some) poor patient
ein es arm en Krank en(Genitiv, "Whose?") - one poor patient (m.r.)
ein er arm en Krank en(Genitiv, “Whose?”) - one poor patient (female)

An exception! Singular Dative. If the gender shows an adjective (that is, we have a strong declension), then the substantiated form will have a neutral ending:

Today we are going to take a closer look at the topic Weak declension of adjectives in German". In the lesson on general adjective declension, we already talked about the fact that there are different types of adjective declension, namely there are three of them: weak , strong And mixed . What is the peculiarity of the weak declension of German adjectives? Everything is very simple, the German adjective acts in the so-called weak position, since all the functions of indicating gender, number and case are taken over by the article or the word that performs its role.

Consider the following example:

Die weiße Katze sitzt auf dem schwarzen Stuhl.

What do we see here? Two adjectives that have changed their forms according to the principle of weak declension, namely: the article die has already pointed out that the noun, and, accordingly, the adjective, is feminine, singular and stand in Nominative, so the adjective and gets only a neutral ending -e from which almost nothing can be determined. Second example: Article dem also, as we know, indicates Dative, so the adjective gets again a neutral ending -en why again - neutral, but not -e then? Nothing complicated. Let's answer this question with a table:

	male genus	middle genus	feminine genus	plural number
Nominative	d er schon e Tisch	d as schon e house	d ie schon e Tasche	d ie schon en Taschen
Accusative	d en schon en Tisch	d as schon e house	d ie schon e Tasche	d ie schon en Taschen
Dative	d em schon en Tisch	d em schon en house	d er schon en Tasche	d en schon en Taschen
Genitive	d es schon en Tisches	d es schon en Houses	d er schon en Tasche	d er schon en Taschen

So, let's look at the articles, we have already taken the declension of nouns, if you forgot, you can always find information on this topic on our website.

As we know and see from the table, in Nominative And Accusative the article practically does not change, only in the masculine gender, where -e is turning -en. Now let's find out why. If you look at these two cases, then, as noted above, the article does not change, except for the masculine. Therefore, if you focus on the article when declining adjectives, while, of course, you need to know in which case and what form the article has, then you can follow this rule: “Put the ending -e where you have not changed the forms of the article!” In addition to the plural, there must always be -en, since it is necessary to somehow distinguish the plural, for example, from the feminine.

In what other cases is it necessary to decline an adjective according to a weak type?

We change the German adjective according to the weak declension, when, for example, instead of the definite article, there are the following accompanying words :

dieser - dieser große Junge,
jeder - jeder junge Mann,
jener - jene kleine Tasche,
mancher - manche roten Äpfel,
welcher - welches dicke Buch,
solcher-solches gute Dach,
derselbe - derselbe schwarze Mantel,
derjenige - diejenige gute Person,
jeglicher - jegliche mechanische Tatigkeit,
alle - alle möglichen Versuche,
beide - beide roten Kleider.

In these examples, all adjectives are in Nominative and only in one of the genera. Accordingly, each of these words, which are used as an accompanying word, can be put in any gender, case and number. But at the same time, we remember that we must take into account the endings of adjectives and nouns and, of course, do not forget about the context.

In German, there are 3 types of adjective declension:

weak declination

The adjective comes after the definite article or demonstrative pronouns

	Singular Singular			Plural Plural
	maskulinum masculine	Femininum Feminine gender	Neutrum Neuter gender
Nominative Nominative	der hohe Baum tall tree	die neue Stadt new town	dasaltehouse old house	diegutenBucher good books
Genetiv Genitive	deshohenBaum(e)s tall tree	derneuenStadt new city	des alten houses old house	der guten Bücher good books
Dative Dative	dem hohen Baum(e) tall tree	derNeuen Stadt new city	demAlten Haus(e) old house	den guten Büchern good books
Accusative Accusative	den hohen Baum tall tree	die neue Stadt new town	das alte Haus old house	diegutenBucher good books

strong declination

Without article and pronouns

	Singular Singular			Plural Plural
	maskulinum masculine	Femininum Feminine gender	Neutrum Neuter gender
Nominative Nominative	Hoher Baum tall tree	Neue Stadt new town	Altes House old house	gute Bucher good books
Genetiv Genitive	hohen Baum(e)s tall tree	Neuer Stadt new city	Alten Houses old house	Guter Bucher good books
Dative Dative	hohem Baum(e) tall tree	Neuer Stadt new city	Altem House(e) old house	guten Buchern good books
Accusative Accusative	Hohen Baum tall tree	Neue Stadt new town	Altes House old house	gute Bucher good books

mixed declension

An adjective comes after an indefinite article, a possessive pronoun, or a negative particle kein

	Singular Singular			Plural Plural
	maskulinum masculine	Femininum Feminine gender	Neutrum Neuter gender
Nominative Nominative	einhoherBaum tall tree	eine neue Stadt new town	ein Alteshouse old house	myinegutenBucher my good books
Genetiv Genitive	eines hohen Baum(e)s tall tree	einerneuenStadt new city	eines alten houses old house	meiner guten Bucher my good books
Dative Dative	einem hohenBaum(e) tall tree	einerneuenStadt new city	einem altenhouse(e) old house	meinengutenBuchern my good books
Accusative Accusative	einenhohenBaum tall tree	eine neue Stadt new town	ein Alteshouse old house	myinegutenBucher my good books

Degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs

Degree of comparison	Education		Adjective	Adverb
Positive Positive			Schnell fast laut loud kalt cold	Schnell fast laut loud kalt cold
Comparative Comparative			Schneller faster, faster lauter louder, louder	Schneller faster lauter louder
	a a o => ö u u		kalter colder, colder	kalter colder
superlative excellent			der schnellste, am schnellsten the fastest der lauteste, am lautesten the loudest	am Schnellsten fastest am lautesten loudest
	a a o => ö u u		der kälteste, am kältesten the coldest	am kaltesten coldest

Wrong degrees of comparisonadjective

Positive positive degree	Comparative comparative	superlative Superlatives