German grammar possesses several basic rules that underpin the language. The following is a brief overview of the most crucial ones:



1. Genders of nouns

There are three genders: masculine (der), feminine (die), and neuter (das).



The gender of a noun is fixed, and it impacts articles and endings of adjectives.



2. Cases (Kasus)

There are four grammatical cases used by German, impacting articles, pronouns, adjectives, and sometimes nouns:



Nominative: Sentence subject.



Accusative: Direct object of the sentence.



Dative: Indirect object.



Genitive: Expresses possession.



3. Articles and Declensions

Definite articles (the): der, die, das



Indefinite articles (a/an): ein, eine



Articles and adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, case, and number.



4. Word Order

Main clauses: Verb typically in the second position.



Ex: Ich gehe morgen zur Schule. (I’m going to school tomorrow.)



Questions: Verb comes first.



Ex: Geht er zur Schule? (Is he going to school?)



Subordinate clauses: Verb moves to the end.



Ex: ., weil ich müde bin.

(.because I am tired.)



5. Verb Conjugation

Verbs are changed according to the subject pronoun and tense.



Example in present tense:



ich gehe (I go), du gehst (you go), er/sie/es geht (he/she/it goes)



6. Separable and Inseparable Prefixes

Most verbs consist of a root + prefix.



Separable: aufstehen → Ich stehe früh auf.



Inseparable: verstehen → Ich verstehe dich.



7. Plural Formation

No one rule—plurals by noun.



Often involves the addition of -e, -en, -n, -s, or changing the vowel (Umlaut: a → ä).



8. Adjective Endings

Adjective endings vary depending on gender, case, and type of article.



Ex: ein guter Mann, eine gute Frau, ein gutes Kind



9. Negation

Two principal negators:



nicht (not) – for verbs, adjectives, and whole phrases.



kein (no, not a) – negates nouns with indefinite articles.



10. Modal Verbs

Frequent modals include: können (can), müssen (must), dürfen (may), etc.



Ex: Ich kann schwimmen. (I can swim.)

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