German Declension: The Four Grammatical Cases in Detail

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This guide explains declension (Deklination der Nomen) and the four German grammatical cases (Kasus). Learning a few patterns makes the system easier to use. 

The term declension in the German language describes the inflection (change) of nouns, articles, pronouns and adjectives according to the four cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. You will also have to consider the grammatical gender (Genus) and whether a noun is singular or plural (Numerus). The grammatical cases help you to identify the function of a noun within a sentence.

In the scope of this article I will focus on the declension of nouns and articles, as this is the foundation of all further learning. But first I will explain what the grammatical cases are and how they are used.

Understanding the Four German Cases (Kasus):

Case marks a grammatical relationship. Common uses include the subject (nominative), the direct object (accusative), the indirect object (dative), and the attributive use (genitive).

Let’s look at a simple sentence:

Der Mann gibt	dem Hund	des Nachbarn	einen Knochen.
The man gives	the dog	of the neighbor	a bone.
subject → nominative	indirect object → dative	attributive use → genitive	direct object → accusative

It can also help to use questions to determine the grammatical case.

Nominative 

marks the subject. The subject need not be an active doer: in Der Mann wird gelobt — The man is praised — the man receives the action but is still nominative. It is also used after the verbs: sein, bleiben, werden. It is the basic form you find in the dictionary. 

Ask this Question to determine the nominative case:

Wer gibt dem Hund des Nachbarn einen Knochen? Der Mann

Who gives the dog of the neighbor a bone? The man

Accusative

indicates the direct object of the sentence, the object which directly receives the action. It is also used after the prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

Ask the question:

Wen oder Was gibt der Mann dem Hund? Einen Knochen

What does the man give to the dog? A bone

Dative

indicates the indirect object, the receiver of the direct object. It is also used after the prepositions: aus, bei, mit, von, zu

Ask the question:

Wem gibt der Mann einen Knochen? Dem Hund

To whom does the man give a bone? To the dog

Genitive

indicates possession by s.o./s.th. or attributes of s.o./s.th., and it is also used after certain prepositions: e.g. wegen, trotz, infolge, dank

Ask the question:

Wessen Hund bekommt einen Knochen? Der Hund des Nachbarn.

Whose dog gets a bone? The neighbor’s dog.

Depending on the case, the definite or indefinite article changes, and sometimes the ending of the noun itself. The article is the most obvious indicator for German grammatical cases.

Declension with the definite/indefinite (the/a) article in singular

	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative Wer?	der/ein Maler der/ein Nachbar der/ein Gedanke der/ein Lieferant	die/eine Katze	das/ein Zimmer das/ein Kind
accusative Wen/Was?	den/einen Maler den/einen Nachbarn den/einen Gedanken den/einen Lieferanten	die/eine Katze	das/ein Zimmer das/ein Kind
dative Wem?	dem/einem Maler dem/einem Nachbarn dem/einem Gedanken dem/einem Lieferanten	der/einer Katze	dem/einem Zimmer dem/einem Kind
genitive Wessen?	des/eines Malers des/eines Nachbarn des/eines Gedankens des/eines Lieferanten	der/einer Katze	des/eines Zimmers des/eines Kindes

The declension of definite and indefinite articles is straightforward, though you do have to memorize it. The only tricky bits are some of the differing endings for the masculine and neuter. But there is some logic to this.

Types of Declension in Singular:

Accusative/dative noun endings:

In the common singular noun patterns shown here, feminine nouns and most masculine/neuter nouns have no extra accusative or dative ending. Weak masculine nouns and das Herz need special attention. 

But there are some exceptions that have the letters -n or -en added*:

• Masculine living beings with the ending -e:

der Junge, den Jungen, dem Jungen	the boy
der Kunde, den Kunden, dem Kunden	the customer
der Rabe, den Raben, dem Raben	the raven

• Masculine nationalities with the ending -e:

der Russe, den Russen, dem Russen	the Russian
der Deutsche, den Deutschen, dem Deutschen	the German

• And a few more masculine nouns, mostly also living beings:

der Bauer, den Bauern, dem Bauern	the farmer
der Nachbar, den Nachbarn, dem Nachbarn	the neighbor
der Bär, den Bären, dem Bären	the bear

• Masculine professions originating from other languages:

der Fotograf, den Fotografen, dem Fotografen	the photographer
der Assistent, den Assistenten, dem Assistenten	the assistant
Der Advokat, den Advokaten, dem Advokaten	the lawyer

• Masculine abstracts with the ending -e and one neuter word (das Herz):

This last group also ends with -s in the genitive case (the others don’t!):

der Buchstabe, den Buchstaben, dem Buchstaben, des Buchstabens	the letter
der Wille, den Willen, dem Willen, des Willens	the will
das Herz, das Herz, dem Herzen, des Herzens	the heart

Genitive noun endings

Most ordinary feminine nouns do not add a singular genitive ending: der Katze, der Frau. Strong masculine and neuter nouns generally add -s or -es. Which form is possible depends on the word; syllable count and stress give tendencies, not automatic rules.

Many short words allow both forms: des Huts / des Hutes. After a sibilant ending such as -s, -ß or -z, -es is normally needed: des Glases, des Witzes. Endings such as -sch and -st do not require -es in every noun. Check a dictionary when unsure.

German	English
Aufgrund ihres Erfolges wurde sie berühmt.	She became famous because of her success.
Am Rand des Glases war eine Fliege.	There was a fly on the rim of the glass.
Ich habe den Sinn des Witzes nicht verstanden.	I did not understand the meaning of the joke.
Der Griff des Hammers ist aus Holz.	The handle of the hammer is made of wood.
Das Zimmer lag im Obergeschoss.	The room was upstairs.
Das Wasser des Sees war kalt.	The lake’s water was cold.
Der Geruch des Kaffees ist angenehm.	The smell of the coffee is pleasant.

Weak masculine nouns retain -(e)n in genitive, without an additional -s: des Bauern, des Affen, des Fotografen. Mixed nouns such as Gedanke use -ns: des Gedankens. Compare the patterns rather than assuming all masculine nouns behave alike.

Nominalized adjectives keep adjective endings: Ich glaube an die Macht des Guten. — I believe in the power of good. This is a different pattern from ordinary weak nouns.

Names in the genitive

Personal and place names without a preceding article usually add -s: Annas Mutter, Hamburgs Zentrum. Do not add an English-style apostrophe before this ordinary ending. Names ending in an s-sound use a final apostrophe in this construction: Lars’ Auto, Max’ Freundin. With an article or other modifying words, name inflection can differ; learn the whole construction.

German	English
Er hat Annas Mutter getroffen.	He met Anna’s mother.
Wir wohnen im Zentrum Hamburgs.	We live in the center of Hamburg.
Lars’ Auto war kaputt.	Lars’s car was broken.
Max’ Freundin ist nicht zu Hause.	Max’s girlfriend is not at home.
Die Ernte des Bauern war mager.	The farmer’s harvest was poor.
Der Käfig des Affen ist klein.	The monkey’s cage is small.
Die Arbeit des Fotografen ist schön.	The photographer’s work is beautiful.

The genitive is common in written German. In conversation, possession is often expressed with:

von + dative, e.g.

Er hat die Mutter von Anna (Annas Mutter) getroffen.

Der Käfig von dem Affen (des Affen) ist klein.

And finally we have to look at how declension affects the plural form of nouns.

Declension in Plural

Plural declension is much more simple than singular. You only have to remember the declension of the article die, which is identical for masculine, feminine and neuter. 

If you want to refer to an unspecified amount, you just omit the article altogether, as in English, e.g.

Fische schwimmen im Wasser	Fish swim in the water.
Ich kaufe Taschen.	I buy bags.

The plural nouns remain unchanged in nominative, accusative and genitive. 

Dative plural normally adds -n when the plural does not already end in -n or -s: den Fischen, den Kindern, den Taschen. Some loanword plurals follow other patterns, so “always ends in -n” is too absolute. 

Exceptions are words ending with -s. They remain unchanged in all four cases.

Declension with the definite (the) article in plural:

words in plural with the following endings:

	-e	-en	singular & plural are the same	-er	-s
nominative	die Fische	die Taschen	die Hügel	die Kinder	die Büros
accusative	die Fische	die Taschen	die Hügel	die Kinder	die Büros
dative	den Fischen	den Taschen	den Hügeln	den Kindern	den Büros
genitive	der Fische	der Taschen	der Hügel	der Kinder	der Büros

You now have the main patterns to practice; repeated use will help you recognize them in longer sentences.

Conclusion

There are four grammatical cases in German; the case you use, depends on the grammatical function of the noun in the sentence.

It can be helpful to use the questions: Wer? Wen oder Was? Wem? Wessen? to verify, if the noun is in nominative, accusative, dative or genitive; certain prepositions and a few verbs also require a specific case. 

The article is another good identifier of the grammatical case. Learn which article belongs to which case by heart, there are not that many! Memorizing them will instantly demystify declension for you. 

The endings of nouns can be a bit trickier, but often the noun actually does not change at all. So don’t agonize about the endings, it will take some time to get used to. But eventually you will develop a feeling for what sounds right in conjunction with which article.

Learn the governing word, too

The subject/direct-object/recipient clues are a starting point, not a complete case rule. Verbs can require a case: helfen takes dative (Ich helfe dem Mann), even when English calls the person a direct object. Prepositions also govern cases; nach and seit take dative, while some prepositions such as dank allow more than one pattern. Two-way prepositions need their own context-based rule.

Der Deutsche is a nominalized adjective: ein Deutscher, but der Deutsche. It should not be treated as identical in every context to a weak noun such as der Junge.

Articles do not always uniquely identify case: die Katze can be nominative or accusative. Use the whole sentence, governing verb/preposition and endings together.

Practice

Complete: ___ Mann gibt ___ Kind ___ Buch. (the man, the child, a book) / Ich helfe ___ Kindern.

Check the answers

Der Mann gibt dem Kind ein Buch. (nominative, dative, accusative) / Ich helfe den Kindern. (dative plural).