Adjectives

   A predicate adjective follows a verb such as sein (to be) or werden (to become) and modifies the subject of the sentence. No ending is required on predicate adjectives.

Meine Tante ist ziemlich alt.	My aunt is rather old.
Ein Freund von mir wurde reich.	A friend of mine became rich.

Except for in the use of predicate adjectives, English and German differ greatly in how adjectives are used. German requires specific adjective endings for adjectives that directly modify nouns.

  Adjectives in the nominative case should be looked at carefully because the noun’s gender plays a key role in the choice of adjective endings. When a der word precedes the adjective, the der word indicates the noun’s gender. Adjectives that follow der words have an -e ending. When an ein word precedes the adjective, the adjective identifies the noun’s gender. Let’s look at some examples in the nominative case.

adjectives in the nominative case with der words

masculine	feminine	neuter
der neue Mantel	die neue Decke	das neue Heft
dieser alte Wagen	jene alte Jacke	welches alte Buch

adjectives in the nominative case with ein words

masculine	feminine	neuter
ein neuer Mantel	eine neue Decke	ein neues Heft
kein alter Wagen	seine alte Jacke	ihr altes Buch

  Feminine and neuter adjectives, whether with der words or ein words, are identical in both the nominative and accusative cases.
All other adjectives that follow either der words or ein words will have an -en ending:

1. in the masculine accusative

2. throughout the dative and genitive with all genders

3. throughout the plural in all the cases

For example:

	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
nominative				seine neuen Schuhe
accusative	diesen alten Schlips			seine neuen Schuhe
dative	diesem alten Schlips	ihrer besten Bluse	meinem kleinen Auto	seinen neuen Schuhen
genitive	dieses alten Schlipses	ihrer besten Bluse	meines kleinen Autos	seiner neuen Schuhe

 When a declined adjective is not preceded by either a der word or an ein word, the der word endings become the adjective endings. For example:

	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
nominative	roter Wein	kalte Milch	gutes Wetter	kranke Menschen
accusative	roten Wein	kalte Milch	gutes Wetter	kranke Menschen
dative	rotem Wein	kalter Milch	gutem Wetter	kranken Menschen
genitive	roten Weines	kalter Milch	guten Wetters	kranker Menschen

 A few determiners require a special adjective declension. These determiners are used exclusively with plural nouns.

einige              some

mehrere         several

sämtliche       all

viele                many

wenige           few

  Notice how the declension of the adjectives that follow these determiners differs from the ones illustrated with der words and ein words. The adjective endings are like those used with adjectives that are not preceded by either der words or ein words.

	einige	viele
nominative	einige junge Leute	viele interessante Bücher
accusative	einige junge Leute	viele interessante Bücher
dative	einigen jungen Leuten	vielen interessanten Büchern
genitive	einiger junger Leute	vieler interessanter Bücher

With these determiners, both the determiners and adjectives always have the same endings.

     

   Many adjectives can be used as adverbs. Adverbs in both German and English function in a similar way and are used quite easily. They can modify verbs: Er schreibt gut. (He writes well.) And they can modify adjectives or other adverbs: Er schreibt sehr gut. (He writes very well.) Unlike adjectives, German adverbs never require an ending.