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German definite and indefinite articles often work similarly to English “the” and “a/an”. Their forms vary with grammatical gender, number and case—not grammatical person. We will give a lot of examples to make it easier and finish with an exercise section to practice what you’ve learned. Learn the forms, then practice them in complete sentences.
What are the Differences between the Definite and Indefinite Article?
Like English “the”, the definite article identifies a referent the listener can recognize. Prior mention and uniqueness in context are common reasons; these are not the only uses.
a) When it has already been mentioned and/or we know what noun the speaker is referring to
Example
| Ich habe eine neue Nachbarin. Die Nachbarin ist sehr nett. | I have a new neighbor. The neighbor is very nice. |
In the example, ‘eine’ translates as ‘a’. This is the indefinite article in the feminine, accusative case. In the second sentence, ‘die’ means ‘the’, which is the definite article (again feminine, but nominative case, which is the same form as the accusative). We use ‘the’ in the second sentence, because the neighbor has been mentioned once already and we know who the speaker is referring to.
b) When the referent is uniquely identifiable in the context
| Der Mond ist heute hell. | The moon is bright today. |
Forms of the definite article
The definite article [der, die, das, die (Pl.)] is translated as ‘the’ in English.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitive | des | der | des | der |
Examples:
| Ich kenne einen Mann. Der Mann wohnt in der Nähe. | I know a man. The man lives around here. |
If we want to connect the sentences so they sound more natural in German and English, we would still use „der” in German. Please note that the meaning of “der” would then change:
| Ich kenne einen Mann, der in der Nähe wohnt. | I know a man, who lives around here. |
| Ich habe einen Mann auf einer Party getroffen. Jetzt gehe ich mit dem Mann aus. | I met a man at a party. Now, I am going out with the man. |
In the first sentence, the indefinite article einen is in the accusative because ‘Mann’ is the direct object in the sentence. We use an indefinite article because this is the first time we are mentioning the man.
In the second sentence, der becomes dem because the definite article comes after ‚mit‘, which always takes the dative.
To negate a statement involving a definite noun phrase, use nicht. Its position depends on the intended meaning. To contrast a particular noun phrase, put it before that phrase: Ich gehe nicht mit dem Mann aus, sondern mit seiner Schwester. — I am going out with his sister rather than with the man.
Example:
Ich gehe mit dem Mann nicht aus.
Contractions with Definite Articles
This brings us to our next section: some prepositions bind to definite articles, forming one word.
Examples:
An + das = ans, auf + das = aufs, an + dem = am, bei + dem = beim, für + das = fürs, durch + das = durchs, in + das = ins, in + dem = im, von + dem = vom, um + das = ums, zu + der = zur, zu + dem = zum
| Wir fahren jedes Jahr ans Meer. | We travel to the seaside every year. |
Ans Meer is a conventional expression meaning “to the seaside”. It does not require the listener to know one specific stretch of coast. You can add a location when useful:
Wir fahren jedes Jahr ans Meer nach Bulgarien (or another country) to specify the location of the seaside.
| Ich gehe zur Post. | I’m going to the post office. |
Zur Post means “to the post office” and can refer to the relevant institution or service. The article does not prove that the area has only one post office. Zu takes dative.
On a final note for this section, the genitive masculine and neuter form of the definite article is des. There is one specific thing about its use:
| Das ist das Auto des Mannes. | That’s the man’s car. |
The genitive indicates possession. The noun order is reversed – das Auto des Mannes becomes the man’s car. Notice something else? The genitive noun takes –es at the end. Both articles are definite because we know which car and which man are being referred to.
| Sie sind die Eltern des Schülers. | They are the student’s parents. |
Again, both articles are definitive because we know what parents and what student are being referred to. Here the genitive noun takes –s at the end. Many nouns ending in unstressed -er take -s; syllable count alone does not determine every genitive ending.
| Das ist ein Auto der Frau. | That’s (one of) the woman’s cars. |
Das ist ein Auto der Frau means “That is a car belonging to the woman”. The indefinite article leaves the car unspecified; it does not logically establish that she owns several. Compare Das ist das Auto der Frau — That is the woman’s car — where the car is identified.
Personal names used before a possessed noun normally add -s: Annas Mutter. Names ending in an s-sound use a final apostrophe instead: Marx’ Buch, Chris’ Mutter, Luis’ Mutter. This differs from English’s usual apostrophe before s.
| Marx’ Buch | Marx’ Book |
| Chris’ Mutter | Chris’ mother |
Forms of the Indefinite Article
The indefinite article is used when the noun has not been mentioned previously and is one of many. The forms of the indefinite article in German are equivalent to “a” or “an” in English. There is no German equivalent for ‘an’. It’s still “ein Auto” even though Auto starts with a vowel.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem |
| Genitive | eines | einer | eines |
There is no indefinite article in the plural because the indefinite article can only be placed before a noun in the singular. We can’t say “a cars” in English. “Einige” (a few, some) can be used to refer to an indefinite number of objects.
Examples:
| Ich habe einen Kollegen getroffen. | I met a coworker. The article introduces an unspecified coworker; it does not prove that you have several coworkers. |
| Ich bin mit einer Freundin ins Kino gegangen. | I went to the movies with a (girl)friend. |
The friend is not identified for the listener; this does not mean you must have several friends. ‘Ins’ comes from ‘in + das’, see contraction section above. Do we know which cinema you went to? Not necessarily. ‘Ins Kino’ and ‘ins Theater’ are fixed expressions.
Demonstrative and Indefinite Determiners
Definite articles, indefinite articles, possessive articles, possessive determiners, indefinite determiners, and demonstrative determiners and articles are all grouped in the category of determiners. Our last section will touch upon the relevant ones.
Demonstrative determiners include dieser, diese, dieses (this in the masculine, feminine, and neuter, also diese for the plural) diejenigen, derjenigen (those), dasselbe, demselben (the same), etc.
Examples:
| Das gilt für diejenigen, die kein Auto besitzen. | This applies to those who do not own a car. |
This brings us to negation. The rule is very simple. Ein becomes kein, eine becomes keine, einem becomes keinem, etc.
Examples:
| Ich habe keine Zeit. | I don’t have time. |
Zeit is an uncountable noun in German like time is in English. In the meaning “I have time,” use Ich habe Zeit. In other contexts an article is possible: Wir hatten eine schöne Zeit — We had a lovely time. To say we have time, we’d just say Ich habe Zeit.
But:
| Jetzt ist der richtige Zeitpunkt. | Now is the right time. |
| Es ist an der Zeit. | It’s high time, it’s about time (fixed expression with the dative). |
| Vor einiger Zeit habe ich bei einer Firma gearbeitet. | I worked for a company some time ago. |
Exercises
Time to practice! Fill in the blanks with a declined form of the definite article. Sometimes, there is more than one right answer.
1.________________Fenster und ____________Tür stehen offen. (das/die, die)
2.________________Mann spricht mit_________schönen Frau. (der, der)
3. Das sind_________Schuhe__________Besucher. (die, der)
4. Ich gehe in ____________Schule. (die)
5. Das ist __________Haus__________ Hundes. (das, des)
6. ____________ Mutter von Luis ist krank. (die)
Please provide an alternative way to formulate the above sentence:
Answer: Luis’ Mutter ist krank. The apostrophe follows the final s.
7._____________Hund spielt mit_____________Katze. (der, der)
8._________________Meer ist blau und grün. (das)
9. Ich kaufe ______________ Schwester meiner Frau weiße Blumen. (der)
10. Das ist_______________ Mantel meiner Mutter. (der)
11. Mein Schuh war in___________ Garten.(dem)
What is the contracted form of the above? (answer: im)
12. _______________Freund meiner Schwester geht nicht mehr in_____ Schule. (der, die)
13. Ich mag________________Schwimmbad mehr als______________Meer. (das, das)
14. Wem gehört ______________Wohnung mit________ großen Fenster? (die, dem)
15. Die Schule ist________________ größte Gebäude ______________Stadt. (das, der)
Fill in the blanks with a declined form of the indefinite article.
1. Vor unserem Haus sitzt__________ Katze, die mit_________ blauen Ball spielt. (eine, einem)
2. In meinem Zimmer steht __________ Tisch mit___________Computer. (ein, einem)
3. Ich gebe ________________Kind ein Spiel. (einem)
4. Auf dem Stuhl sitzt________Mann und daneben sitzt_______Kind. (ein, ein)
5. Meine Freundin liest_____________Buch und schaut_____________Film. (ein, einen)
6. Spiel mit __________Oma. (einer)
7. Diese Tasse ist _____________Geschenk________________Freundes. (ein, eines)
8. Mein Bruder hat sich mit ________________Frau getroffen. (einer)
9. Im Garten spielen__________ Junge und ____________Mädchen. (ein, ein)
10. Ich pflücke im Garten_______________ Rose. (eine)
Rule Recap
- 1The definite article is used to refer to a particular place, person, or thing (the definition of a noun) if it has already been mentioned and/or we know what noun the speaker is referring to and when there is only one of this place, person, or thing in the world.
- 2The indefinite article is used when the noun has not been mentioned previously and is one of many.
- 3Some prepositions such as an, auf, zu, and von bind to definite articles, forming one word with them.
- 4Use nicht with a definite noun phrase; its position depends on what is negated. Use kein with many indefinite or articleless noun phrases.
- 5To negate a noun preceded by an indefinite article, use the appropriate form of kein rather than merely adding ‘-k’ in front of the article. Ein = kein.
- 6There is no indefinite article in the plural because the indefinite article can only be placed before a noun in the singular.
Thank you for your interest in the definite and indefinite articles in German. Please share any thoughts with us in the comments section!
Two final distinctions
In Ich kenne einen Mann, der in der Nähe wohnt, der is a relative pronoun, not an article. Demonstratives such as dieser also show gender, number and case. Forms such as diejenigen or demselben are particular inflected forms, not a complete list of basic stems.
There is no plural form of the indefinite article ein: Ich sehe Autos. Words such as einige can mean “some”. The phrase ein Auto means “a car”; German does not choose a separate article merely because a noun starts with a vowel.
In the exercise, Das sind die Schuhe der Besucher uses plural Besucher. For one visitor, write die Schuhe des Besuchers. Ich kaufe der Schwester meiner Frau weiße Blumen has a dative recipient. Spiel mit einer Oma is grammatically possible (“play with a grandmother”); for your own grandmother, Spiel mit deiner Oma is more natural.
