German adjectives

German adjectives come before the noun, as in English, and (usually) are not capitalized. However, as in French and other Indo-European languages (but not English), they are generally inflected when they come before a noun: they take an ending that depends on the gender and case of the noun phrase. Note that when using an uninflected indefinite article, or when no article is used, the adjective takes the ending letter of the definite article of the noun.

Uninflected adjective following a noun:
Der Mann ist gut, das Kind ist gut, die Frau ist gut und die Menschen sind gut.
The man is good, the child is good, the woman is good and the people are good.
Inflected adjective following uninflected indefinite article:
Er ist ein guter Mann, es ist ein gutes Kind, sie ist eine gute Frau und sie sind gute Menschen.
He is a good man, he/she is a good child, she is a good woman and they are good people.
Inflected adjective in absence of article:
Guter Mann, gutes Kind, gute Frau und gute Menschen.
Good man, good child, good woman and good people.
Inflected adjective following definite article:
Der gute Mann, das gute Kind, die gute Frau und die guten Menschen.
The good man, the good child, the good woman and the good people.
German grammar


Weak, mixed, and strong inflection

Strong inflection

Strong inflection is used:

  • When no article is used
  • When a quantity is indicated by
    • etwas (some; somewhat), mehr (more)
    • wenig- (few), viel- (much; many), mehrer- (several; many), einig- (some)
    • a number (greater than one, i.e. with no endings), without a definite article before it[1]
    • non-inflectable phrases: ein paar (a couple of; a few), ein bisschen (a bit; a little bit)

The adjective endings are similar to the definite article endings, apart from the adjectival ending "-en" in the masculine and neuter genitive singular. (Note: the masculine and genitive singular was originally "-es", as might be expected, but the weak ending "-en" began to displace it by the seventeenth century, and became common by the mid-eighteenth.[2])

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative neuer neue neues neue
Accusative neuen neue neues neue
Dative neuem neuer neuem neuen
Genitive neuen neuer neuen neuer

Mixed inflection

Mixed inflection is used after:

Nominative and accusative singular endings are the same as in the strong inflection; all other forms end with "-en".

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative ein neuer eine neue ein neues meine neuen
Accusative einen neuen eine neue ein neues meine neuen
Dative einem neuen einer neuen einem neuen meinen neuen
Genitive eines neuen einer neuen eines neuen meiner neuen

Weak inflection

Weak inflection is used after:

  • definite article (der, die, das, etc.)
  • derselb- (the same), derjenig- (the one)
  • dies- (this), jen- (that), jeglich- (any), jed- (every), which decline similarly to the definite article
  • manch- (some), solch- (such), welch- (which), which decline similarly to the definite article
  • alle (all)
  • beide (both)

Five endings in the nominative and accusative cases end with -e, all others with -en.

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der neue die neue das neue die neuen
Accusative den neuen die neue das neue die neuen
Dative dem neuen der neuen dem neuen den neuen
Genitive des neuen der neuen des neuen der neuen

No inflection

Several quantifying words are not (always) inflected:

  • nichts, wenig, etwas, viel, and genug

"wenig" and "viel" can be put in the plural, where they take endings as normal: viele/wenige Kinder

Criteria for inflection

German adjectives take different sets of endings in different circumstances. Essentially, the adjectives must provide case, gender and number information only if the articles do not. This is among the more confusing aspects of German grammar for those learning the language. However, the adjective endings nearly always adhere to the following rules:

Strong inflection

The strong inflection is used when there is no article at all, or if the noun is preceded by a non-inflectable word or phrase such as ein bisschen, etwas or viel ("a little, some, a lot of/much"). It is also used when the adjective is preceded merely by another regular (i.e. non-article) adjective.

Mixed inflection

The mixed inflection is used when the adjective is preceded by an indefinite article (ein-, kein-) or a possessive determiner.

Note: The prevailing view is that the mixed inflection is not a true inflection in its own right, but merely the weak inflection with a few additions to compensate for the lack of the masculine nominative and neuter nominative and accusative endings.

Weak inflection

The weak inflection is used when there is a definite word in place (der [die, das, des, den, dem], jed-, jen-, manch-, dies-, solch- and welch-). The definite word has provided most of the necessary information, so the adjective endings are simpler.

The endings are applicable to every degree of comparison (positive, comparative, and superlative).

Adjective comparison

Positive form

The basic form of the adjective is the positive form: the adjective stem with the appropriate ending.

schön (basic positive form)
das schöne Lied ("the beautiful song")

Comparative form

The basic comparative form consists of the stem and the suffix -er. Inflected, the corresponding adjective ending is attached.

schöner (basic comparative form)
das schönere Lied ("the more beautiful song")

Superlative form

A predicate form of the superlative is actually a prepositional phrase. One attaches the suffixes -st and the adjective ending -en to the root, and the word am is put before it.

am schönsten ("the most beautiful")
Ich finde dieses Haus am schönsten. ("I find this house (to be) the most beautiful.")

The attributive superlative form adds the "st" to the comparative root and then the conventional adjective ending.

das schönste Lied

This form can also be placed in a predicate position with the appropriate adjective ending:

Dieses Haus ist das schönste. ("This house is the most beautiful.")

References
  1. If there is a definite article, one uses the weak inflection, as in "der Lobgesang der drei jungen Männer".
  2. Joseph Wright, Historical German Grammar. Vol. I: Phonology, Word-Formation and Accidence, Oxford Univ. Press, 1907; p.194.
  • Helmut Richter. "German Declension". Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  • Dr. T's German Adjective Ending Tutorial
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