Definite Articles in German
In German, the definite articles "der," "die," and "das" correspond to the English word "the." The article changes depending on the gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter) and the case (nominative, accusative, dative, or genitive). The table below summarizes the definite articles in different cases for each gender.
Definite Articles for All Cases
| Case |
Masculine |
Feminine |
Neuter |
Plural |
| Nominative (Subject) |
der |
die |
das |
die |
| Accusative (Direct Object) |
den |
die |
das |
die |
| Dative (Indirect Object) |
dem |
der |
dem |
den |
| Genitive (Possession) |
des |
der |
des |
der |
Examples for Each Case
Nominative Case (Subject)
Used when the noun is the subject of the sentence.
- Masculine: Der Mann ist hier. (The man is here.)
- Feminine: Die Frau lacht. (The woman is laughing.)
- Neuter: Das Kind spielt. (The child is playing.)
- Plural: Die Bücher sind neu. (The books are new.)
Accusative Case (Direct Object)
Used when the noun is the direct object of the sentence.
- Masculine: Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.)
- Feminine: Ich kaufe die Tasche. (I buy the bag.)
- Neuter: Ich esse das Brot. (I eat the bread.)
- Plural: Ich höre die Vögel. (I hear the birds.)
Dative Case (Indirect Object)
Used when the noun is the indirect object of the sentence.
- Masculine: Ich gebe dem Mann das Buch. (I give the man the book.)
- Feminine: Ich helfe der Frau. (I help the woman.)
- Neuter: Ich zeige dem Kind das Spiel. (I show the child the game.)
- Plural: Ich gebe den Kindern Schokolade. (I give the children chocolate.)
Genitive Case (Possession)
Used to show possession.
- Masculine: Das Auto des Mannes ist rot. (The man's car is red.)
- Feminine: Das Haus der Frau ist groß. (The woman's house is big.)
- Neuter: Der Name des Kindes ist Anna. (The child's name is Anna.)
- Plural: Die Türen der Häuser sind geschlossen. (The doors of the houses are closed.)