The word “the” starts looking like the most beautiful, efficient word ever conceived once you start learning a new language\u2014particularly German.<\/p>\n
You’ve got the masculine der<\/em>, the feminine die<\/em>, the neutral das<\/em> and the plural die<\/em>. But! These articles change depending on the context of their use to sometimes become dem<\/em> or den<\/em>.<\/p>\n It’s one of the little nuances of the German language that has learners wanting to pull their hair out and potential learners giving up early in the game. Let’s avoid that and crack this code together.<\/p>\n [fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The article that comes before every noun may seem totally random, but there are some tricks (and obviously there are exceptions to every rule). For general reference, check out the following.\u00a0<\/p>\n If a word ends with -or<\/em>, -ling<\/em>, -smus<\/em>\u00a0or -ig<\/em><\/strong>, it always has the masculine\u00a0der <\/i><\/strong>article.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n If a word ends with -ung<\/em>, -keit<\/em>, -schaft<\/em>, –<\/em>t\u00e4t<\/em>, -ik<\/em>, -tion<\/em>, -heit\u00a0<\/em>or -ei<\/em><\/strong>, it always has the feminine article die. <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n Very often\u2014though not always\u2014words ending with an -e<\/strong><\/em> also have the die<\/em><\/strong> article, like die<\/em>\u00a0Lampe<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(lamp).<\/p>\n Die<\/em><\/strong> is always used when speaking in plural (except in the Dativ<\/em> case, which we’ll get to later). This can be a lifesaver sometimes. Just only speak of things in terms of two or more and you’re golden.<\/p>\n If a word ends with -chen<\/em>, -ma<\/em>, -um<\/em>, -ment<\/em>, -lein<\/em>\u00a0or -tum<\/em><\/strong>, it has the neutral article das. <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n Also, it’s very common for technology, mechanical and science words to have the das<\/em><\/strong> article in German.<\/p>\n So we have a base to work from, at least. But there are a lot of German words, many of which do not have these endings. Unfortunately, knowing them is just a matter of memorizing the articles.<\/p>\n Things get a bit more complicated when you start dealing with the Akkusativ<\/i> case, which comes up when we have a “direct object”.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is a “direct object”, you may ask? It’s simply when something is on the receiving end of the verb.<\/p>\n For example, “The boy\u00a0sees the dog<\/strong>” or “We take\u00a0the kids\u00a0<\/strong>to the park.”\u00a0<\/p>\n In both sentences,\u00a0the dog and the kids are being acted upon, on the receiving end of the verbs “to see” and “to take”.\u00a0<\/p>\n So what does being in the Akkusativ\u00a0<\/i>case mean? It means the articles for masculine nouns change: Der<\/i> becomes <\/strong>den.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/i>Thankfully, all other genders stay the same.<\/p>\n So let’s put it in a sentence!<\/p>\n To keep the noun genders very clear, let’s talk about men and women. We can use the sentence, “The woman kisses the man.”<\/p>\n “Man” would obviously be masculine, der Mann<\/em><\/strong>, and “woman” would be feminine, die Frau<\/em><\/strong>. And because the man is on the receiving end of the verb (being kissed), he goes in the Akkusativ<\/em> case.<\/p>\n Remember, the only article that changes is the masculine, so der Mann<\/em><\/strong> becomes den Mann<\/em><\/strong>. Therefore, the sentence is:<\/p>\n Die Frau k\u00fcsst den<\/u> Mann. <\/em><\/p>\n Let’s do one more for good measure. Now we want to say, “The boy throws the ball.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “Boy” is der Junge<\/em><\/strong>, and as he is doing the throwing, he stays the same. But “ball” is der Ball<\/em><\/strong>, and as it’s on the receiving end of the verb (it’s being thrown), it becomes den Ball <\/em><\/strong>in the Akkusativ<\/em> case. Therefore, the sentence is:<\/p>\n Der Junge wirft den Ball.<\/em><\/p>\n Several prepositions<\/a> are always followed by the accusative case. That means that regardless of what that thing is doing in the sentence, anything after goes in the accusative. Why? Because the prepositions say so.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wir gehen durch den Wald. \u00a0<\/em>(We walk through the forest)\u00a0<\/p>\n Durch\u00a0<\/em>(through) is always followed by the dative, so\u00a0der Wald<\/em> becomes\u00a0den Wald<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Be sure to learn the prepositions that take the accusative, so no one can accuse you otherwise!\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s another case we need to look at: Dativ<\/i>.<\/p>\n In the accusative case, we were dealing with the “direct object”. Well, the Dativ<\/i> case is a bit more circuitous, so here we are dealing with the “indirect object”.\u00a0<\/p>\n What does the indirect object do? It receives the direct object:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “Santa gives the child a present.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “The present”, is the direct object, as it is being given. “The child” is then the indirect object, as it’s receiving\u00a0<\/strong>the direct object.\u00a0<\/p>\n So what changes in the dative case?<\/p>\n When you\u2019ve got a regular noun in the Dativ<\/i> case, the article changes again, and this time, they’re all getting in on the fun:<\/p>\n Der<\/i> becomes dem<\/i><\/strong>, die<\/i> becomes <\/strong>der<\/strong>,<\/i>\u00a0das<\/i> becomes dem <\/i><\/strong>and the plural die<\/em> becomes<\/strong> den\u00a0<\/strong><\/i>(and adds an -n on the end of the noun).<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s a lot to remember. You might come up with your own, but I made a little acronym out of the ending letters: MRMN. Maybe you can add words to it, like Mother Rides Motorcycles Never, or Music Rubs Michael’s Nerves. I don’t know…<\/p>\n Just like the accusative, there are a bunch of prepositions<\/a> and verbs<\/a> that are simply always followed by the dative case, like mit\u00a0<\/em>(with) and\u00a0helfen <\/em>(to help).\u00a0Be sure to read our handy articles on those too!\u00a0<\/p>\n Let’s just do a bunch of examples to nail it all home.<\/p>\n The teacher gives the pupil a book.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here, the pupil (der Sch\u00fcler<\/em>)\u00a0is receiving the direct object, the book. Since der <\/i>becomes dem <\/i>in the Dativ<\/em> case, the sentence is:<\/p>\n Der Lehrer gibt dem Sch\u00fcler ein Buch.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n Next sentence:<\/p>\n The boy plays with the dogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since we’re using the preposition mit<\/em>, <\/em>which always takes the dative, the following noun needs to go in the Dativ<\/em> case.<\/p>\n The boy\u2014der Junge<\/em>\u2014<\/em>stays the same. But the dogs\u2014die Hunde<\/em>\u2014<\/em>becomes den<\/strong> Hunden<\/strong><\/i>. (The dative plural adds an -n on the end of the noun, remember!)\u00a0<\/p>\n Therefore, the sentence is:<\/p>\n Der Junge spielt mit den Hunden.<\/em><\/p>\n One more. The sentence is:<\/p>\n The doctor helps the old woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n Helfen\u00a0<\/em>(to help) is one of those verbs that is always followed by the dative, so die Frau\u00a0<\/em>(the woman) becomes der Frau.<\/em>\u00a0Therefore, the sentence is:<\/p>\nGeneral Rules for Using der<\/em>, die<\/em> and das<\/em><\/h2>\n
When to Use der<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n
When to Use die<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
When to Use das<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n
The Akkusativ<\/em> Case: Introducing den<\/em><\/h2>\n
Examples of the Akkusativ<\/em> Case<\/h3>\n
Prepositions That Take the Akkusativ Case<\/h3>\n
<\/i>The Dativ<\/em>\u00a0Case<\/a>: Introducing dem<\/em><\/h2>\n
Examples of the Dativ<\/em> Case<\/h3>\n