![]() the dog), “I saw a few” (dogs) not “I like the”. Unlike the articles, these other determiners can also be used instead of the noun (as pronouns): Other determiners are demonstratives (diese, jene this/that), possessives (mein, unser/my, our) and some indefinites (einige/a few, manche/some and so on). They show that we’re talking about a “non-specific” example of the thing known as “dog” or “Hund”. In German, as in English, there’s a definite article that is put before a noun to make clear that we’re talking about a specific or “definite” example of it: not a dog/ein Hund but the dog/der Hund. First among the determiners are the articles. These are words that “narrow down” a noun. But the German case-ending action mainly affects two other groups of words. It’s the same in English: “he” becomes “him” or “his”, “we” becomes “us” or “our” and so on. Yes, when pronoun takes the place of a noun, there are case-specific forms (“er” > “ihn”, “ihm” “wir” > “uns”). In German, it’s not usually the noun (name a living being, thing or idea) itself that gets an ending. ![]() German is different! it flags case by changing the endings of words much more frequently than today’s English. Case is just an analytical category that we’re not really aware of a native speakers. So, in English it’s mainly word order that makes clear who or what is playing what role. Today, though, these questions words, aside, case-specific forms of words only survive in English pronouns (her, she, hers…) and when we add apostrophe -s to sho possession (the man’s hat). For example who does what to whom or whose this or that is.Ī thousand years ago, Old English had a full case system and we can see some of its remnants in the way that “who” gains case endings to change to “who m” or “who se”. In short, a case is a category into which we put a noun (person or thing) or a pronoun representing a person or thing depending on its relation to other nouns in a phrase. ![]() Meet the four German cases! There’s no denying that the extra “moving parts” complicate German for learners but, if you take time to understand how the system works, you’ll see that the cases can be conquered □ Hold on, though! What even is “case”? What are the different cases for? Which case ending do I need? How do I remember them? This post will give you the answers and set you up to start practising the cases with confidence and to get those endings RIGHT! Discover how YOU can use Dr P's free Weekly Workout Routine to get ready for more confident German conversations in a matter of weeks. You won’t get far into your German learning journey without noticing some words change their form in ways that seem strange for an English native. ![]()
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