German Case Marking, Noun Endings, and Adjective Inflection

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German declension

Changes in word forms that express grammatical information such as case, number, and gender.

Weak masculine nouns

They commonly add -n or -en outside the singular nominative.

Strong adjective inflection

Used when no preceding article fully marks the noun’s case, gender, and number.

Reflexive pronoun

A pronoun used when the subject and object refer to the same person or thing.

Geographic attributive forms in -er

Forms such as Berliner remain undeclined, regardless of the noun’s case, gender, or number.

Quiz questions

1. What is the singular genitive form of the weak masculine noun *der Student*?Answer: *des Studenten*
2. In strong adjective inflection, what ending do masculine and neuter genitive adjectives take?Answer: -en
3. In *Mir ist kalt* (“I am cold”), how is the predicate adjective *kalt* inflected?Answer: It remains unchanged.
4. How does the attributive form *Berliner* change to agree with the case, gender, or number of its noun?Answer: It does not decline and retains its -er ending.
5. When is a German reflexive pronoun used?Answer: When the subject and object refer to the same person or thing.