1. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-1© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns Startblock Like English nouns, German nouns can be either singular or plural and may be preceded by a definite or indefinite article. Unlike English nouns, all German nouns have a gender. German nouns are always capitalized, regardless of where they appear in a sentence.

2. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-2© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. MASCULINEFEMININENEUTER der Mann the man die Frau the woman das Buch the book der Junge the boy die Blume the flower das Mädchen the girl Gender, articles, and nouns Gender All German nouns have a gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. While most nouns referring to males are masculine and most nouns referring to females are feminine, the gender of nouns representing objects and ideas need to be memorized.

3. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-3© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns Nouns ending with -in that refer to people are always feminine. die Freundin the (female) friend die Studentin the (female) student die Professorin the (female) professor die Klassenkameradin the (female) classmate

4. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-4© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns ACHTUNG Other feminine noun endings include -ei, -heit, -schaft, -ung, and -tät. Nouns ending with -chen are always neuter.

5. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-5© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns Definite and indefinite articles The definite article, equivalent to the in English, precedes a noun and indicates its gender. The masculine article is der, the feminine article is die, and the neuter article is das. MASCULINEFEMININENEUTER der Tisch the table die Tür the door das Fenster the window

6. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-6© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns The definite article die is used with all plural nouns, regardless of gender. SINGULARPLURAL MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER der Tisch die Tür das Fenster die Tische die Türen die Fenster the tables the doors the windows 

7. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-7© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns The indefinite article ein(e) corresponds to a or an in English. It precedes the noun and matches its gender. Note that both masculine and neuter nouns take the form ein, while feminine nouns take eine. MASCULINEFEMININENEUTER ein Tisch a table eine Tür a door ein Fenster a window ein Mann a man eine Frau a woman ein Mädchen a girl

8. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-8© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns Er ist ein Mann. He is a man. Sie sind Männer. They are men. There is no plural form of the indefinite article. 

9. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-9© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns Compound nouns Compound words are very common in German. As in English, two or more simple nouns can be combined to form a compound noun. die Nacht night + das Hemd shirt = das Nachthemd nightshirt

10. Strukturen 1A.1 LEKTION 1A 1A.1-10© 2014 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender, articles, and nouns The gender and number of a compound noun is determined by the last noun in the compound.