Rules and usage
Articles in German are determined by the gender of the noun. German has three genders—masculine, feminine, and neuter—each with its own article. Unlike English, which has only "the" and "a/an," German articles change not only for gender but also for case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). Mastering articles means understanding both the gender of each noun and how it changes across cases.
The Three Genders and Their Articles
- In the nominative case (the dictionary form), each gender has a definite article:
- Masculine (das Maskulinum): der - der Mann (the man)
- Feminine (das Femininum): die - die Frau (the woman)
- Neuter (das Neutrum): das - das Kind (the child)
- There is also the indefinite article (a/an):
- Masculine: ein - ein Mann (a man)
- Feminine: eine - eine Frau (a woman)
- Neuter: ein - ein Kind (a child)
✅ Positive sentence examples
| German | English |
|---|
| Der Mann trinkt einen Kaffee. | The man drinks a coffee. |
| Die Frau liest ein Buch. | The woman reads a book. |
⛔ Negative sentence examples
| German | English |
|---|
| Der Mann trinkt keinen Kaffee. | The man doesn't drink any coffee. |
| Die Frau liest kein Buch. | The woman doesn't read any book. |
❓ Question sentence examples
| German | English |
|---|
| Trinkt der Mann einen Kaffee? | Does the man drink a coffee? |
| Liest die Frau ein Buch? | Does the woman read a book? |