Articles and other determiners

The two articles and other determiners

Determiners usually precede nouns. The most important ones are the definite article, such as der, die etc. corresponding to ‘the’, and the indefinite article, such as ein, eine etc. corresponding to ‘a’.

Other determiners include:

•   possessives such as mein ‘my’, dein ‘your’, etc.

•   demonstratives such as dieser ‘this’

•   indefinites such as alle ‘all’/‘everybody’.

Importance of determiners in German
Determiners signal various aspects of the noun

Determiners play an important role in German as they indicate whether a noun is masculine, feminine or neuter and if the noun is in the singular or plural form. Furthermore, determiners signal the grammatical function of a noun in a sentence (if it is the subject, direct object etc.).

How determiners can changeLook at the following examples with the definite article:

Der Manager hat in Washington studiert.

(masc., sing., subject = nominative)

Kennst du den Manager?

(masc., sing., direct object = accusative)

Was gibt er dem Manager?

(masc., sing., indirect object = dative)

As you can see, the definite article changes in accordance with the gender, number and case of the noun it is linked to. This process is called declension.

In the following sections the main determiners and their declension pattern are shown in more detail.

The definite article

Referring to a specific noun

The definite article is used before a noun when referring to a specific or somehow known person, thing or idea:

Die Hauptstadt von Deutschland ist Berlin.

The capital of Germany is Berlin.

Differences between German and English

The use of the definite article can sometimes differ in English and German. The definite article is used in German with:

• names of countries which have masculine or feminine gender such as der Irak, die Schweiz, and names of countries in the plural form (die USA);

   • institutions such as schools and street names: 

Nadine geht in die Schule.

Nadine goes to school. 

Er wohnt in der Goethestraße.

He lives in Goethestrasse.

   • months and seasons such as der Sommer ‘(the) summer’, der August ‘August’ etc. and meals:

Der August was schön.

August was lovely.

Nach dem Mittagessen . . .

After lunch . . .

   • abstract nouns such as Leben ‘life’, Natur ‘nature’, Kunst ‘art’ and often with infinitives                     used as nouns:

Das Leben in London ist sehr teuer.

Life in London is very expensive.

Ich fürchte mich vor dem Fliegen.

I am afraid of flying.

Declension

As explained above, the definite article changes its form according to gender, number and case of the noun it precedes. Here are all forms:

Masculine         Feminine          Neuter               Plural

Nom.	der	Mann	die	Frau	das	Kind	die	Leute
Acc.	den	Mann	die	Frau	das	Kind	die	Leute
Dat.	dem	Mann	der	Frau	dem	Kind	den	Leuten
Gen.	des	Mannes	der	Frau	des	Kindes	der	Leute

Merging of definite articles and prepositions

When using definite articles with prepositions such as in, an, auf the two words often merge:
Er ist in dem Garten. ® Er ist im Garten. ‘He is in the garden’. 

The indefinite article

Referring to an unspecified noun

An indefinite article before a noun refers to an unspecified person, thing or idea:

Kennst du ein Hotel in München?

Do you know a hotel in Munich?

Differences between German and English

The use of the indefinite article in English and German is very similar, although there are a few differences:
• There is no indefinite article in German when stating an affiliation to a country, city,                 profession or religion:

Ich bin Amerikaner.

I am an American.

Franz ist Berliner. 

Franz is a Berliner.

Frau Gass ist Sozialarbeiterin. 

Mrs Gass is a social worker.

• But the indefinite article is used when an adjective is placed before the noun:

Sie ist eine gebürtige Kölnerin.

She was born in Cologne.

Max ist ein sehr guter Webdesigner.

Max is a very good web designer.

• While some nouns function without any article it is important to remember that, put in the      negative, the appropriate form of kein has to be used:

Er ist kein Katholik und sie ist keine gebürtige Londonerin.

He isn’t a Catholic and she isn’t a born Londoner.

Declension
Here are all the various forms of the indefinite article:

             Masculine       Feminine           Neuter         Plural

Nom.	ein	Beruf	eine	Adresse	ein	Telefon	– Bücher
Acc.	einen	Beruf	eine	Adresse	ein	Telefon	– Bücher
Dat.	einem	Beruf	einer	Adresse	einem	Telefon	– Büchern
Gen.	eines	Berufs	einer	Adresse	eines	Telefons	– Bücher

The possessives
Indicating ownership

The possessives mein ‘my’, dein ‘your’, Ihr ‘your’, sein ‘his’, ihr ‘her’, sein ‘its’, unser ‘our’, euer ‘your’ (informal), Ihr ‘your’ (formal), ihr ‘their’, refer  to  ownership  or  belonging  and  relate  to  the  noun  they  precede:

Sind Sie mit Ihrem Beruf zufrieden?

Are you happy with your job?

Declension pattern

The possessives follow the declension pattern of the indefinite article. As an example, here are all forms of Ihr ‘your’ (formal):
             Masculine     Feminine    Neuter            Plural

Nom.	Ihr	Beruf	Ihre	Adresse	Ihr	Telefon	Ihre    Bücher
Acc.	Ihren	Beruf	Ihre	Adresse	Ihr	Telefon	Ihre    Bücher
Dat.	Ihrem	Beruf	Ihrer	Adresse	Ihrem	Telefon	Ihren  Büchern
Gen.	Ihres	Berufs	Ihrer	Adresse	Ihres	Telefons	Ihrer   Bücher

Spelling variations for euer
Note that euer loses its second e in nearly all declension forms, except for the masculine nominative: euer Ball and neuter nominative and accus- ative: euer Baby.

Ist das euer Ball?
(masculine nominative)
Wir haben euren Ball gefunden.
(masculine accusative)


Demonstratives – dieser, solcher

Pointing out a specific noun

Demonstrative determiners single out specific people, objects, qualities, concepts etc. The most important determiner is dieser ‘this’/‘that’ which refers to a noun in close proximity or previously mentioned:

Dieser Bus fährt in die Stadt.

This/that bus goes into town.

Kennst du diese Leute?

Do you know these people?

Another frequently used demonstrative is solcher ‘such’:

Solchen Unsinn habe ich schon lange nicht mehr gehört.

I haven’t heard such nonsense in a long time.

Declension pattern

             Masculine       Feminine        Neuter            Plural

Nom.	dieser  Mann	diese	Frau	dieses	Kind	diese    Leute
Acc.	diesen  Mann	diese	Frau	dieses	Kind	diese    Leute
Dat.	diesem Mann	dieser	Frau	diesem	Kind	diesen Leuten
Gen.	dieses  Mannes	dieser	Frau	dieses	Kindes	dieser  Leute

Indefinites – jeder, einige, viel(e), alle

Referring to a group or to a part

Indefinites usually refer to parts of something or to a whole group, and not to a specific person or object. The most important indefinites are: jeder ‘each’/‘every’, einige ‘some’/‘any’, viel(e) ‘much’/‘many’ and alle ‘all’/ ‘everybody’:

Jedes Kind bekommt ein Eis.

Every child gets an ice cream.

Einige Leute konnten nicht kommen.

Some people couldn’t come.

Viele Köche verderben den Brei.

Many cooks spoil the broth.

Allen Kompositionen von Mozart wurde eine Katalogsnummer gegeben.

All the compositions by Mozart were given a catalogue number.

Declension pattern

The indefinites follow the same declension pattern as dieser. Note that einige ‘some’/‘any’ and alle ‘all’/‘everybody’ can only be used in the plural. viel(e)  usually  appears  without  ending  before  singular  nouns  and ‘uncountable’ nouns when used in the sense of ‘much’/‘a lot of ’:

Er trinkt viel Bier.

He drinks a lot of beer.

Sie hat viel Mut.

She has a lot of courage.