Articles in German have important grammatical functions. They express the gender, number, case and category of definiteness and indefiniteness of the noun they stand before.

Types of articles

German articles divides by three genera: singular der or ein- for masculine das or ein- for the average, die or eine- for feminine and for plural - article die.

Articles der, das, die – certain and ein, eine – uncertain. The category of certainty indicates that the subject being discussed is selected from a multitude of similar ones and is known to the interlocutors, i.e. contextual or unique.

The indefinite article in German carries novelty information about an object in a given context, introduces interlocutors to a new object that has appeared in the field of communication and is replaced in repeated use by a definite article. For instance:

Ich sehe da ein Mädchen. Das Mädchen wine.
I see (some) girl there. She is crying.

It is easy to see what shades of information both articles convey: in the first case, the girl has just appeared in our context, we are not yet familiar with her, she is one of many for us, some kind of girl in other words. In the second sentence we already use definite article in german, because we continue to talk about that girl, a specific girl, who is standing there, so in the translation we can safely replace the word “das Mädchen” simply with the word “she”, since it is already clear who we are talking about.

German article table

It is very important to understand the logic when the subject is not yet defined and when it is already becoming defined, i.e. acquaintances, in each specific situation, otherwise there may even be misunderstandings in dealing with the Germans. It is impossible to use only certain or indefinite articles, both of which carry their own grammatical and semantic functions and loads in the language system. Therefore, for clarity - below German article table to begin with in the nominative case (who? what?).

Declension of articles in German by cases

We use the nominative case when we answer the question “who?”, “What?”, i.e. we call the object, in other words, it itself produces an action, being a subject. If the action is directed at the object, and it acts as the object of this action, then the noun begins to change in cases. Article declension in German is unthinkable without the participation of the article, unlike Russian, where the very form of the word changes due to the ending or other ways of word formation. Therefore, as "Our Father" you need to know the following article declension tables:

Declension of the definite article

Casus case	maskulinum masculine	Neutrum Neuter gender	Femininum Feminine	Plural Plural
Nominative Wer? Was? Who? What?	der	das	die	die
Genitive Wessen? Whose?	des	des	der	der
Dative Wem? Wo? To whom? Where?	dem	dem	der	den
Accusative Wen? Was? Wohin? Whom? What? Where?	den	das	die	die

Declension of the indefinite article

Casus case	maskulinum masculine	Neutrum Neuter gender	Femininum Feminine	* Plural Plural
Nominative Wer? Was? Who? What?	ein	ein	eine	keine
Genitive Wessen? Whose?	eines	eines	einer	keiner
Dative Wem? Wo? To whom? Where?	einem	einem	einer	keinen
Accusative Wen? Was? Wohin? Whom? What? Where?	einen	ein	eine	keine

* Since the indefinite article ein derived from the numeral eins= one, then in the plural ein is inappropriate, but negation is declined in a similar way kein= none, for plural - keine= none.

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The presence of the article (art.) is a feature that distinguishes the German language from many others.

Art. is a part of speech that means:

• grammatical features of a noun (noun). Therefore, it takes place when substantiating any word: leben - das Leben (to live - life); fünf - die Fünf (five - five);
• gender, case, number: der Lehrer (teacher), des Lehrers (teachers), die Lehrer (plural);
• indicates the meaning of certainty and indeterminacy of noun. in a sentence: Das ist ein Buch. Das Buch ist sehr interessant. - This is a book. The book is very interesting.

There is a definite article (def. art.) (singular: der, die, das; plural: die) and indefinite art. (ein, eine, ein; no plural).

Def. art. used in German:

• before (trans.) noun, denoting something unique, unique: die Erde - Earth, der Mond - Moon, die UNO - UN;
• per. noun denoting a specific object in a given situation: Monika saß auf der Couch. Monica sat on the couch. Er wäscht sich die(seine) Hande, den Kopf. - He washes (his) hands, head. Sie wohnen in der Gartenstraße. They live on Sadovaya Street.
• per. noun denoting an object or person known to the interlocutors: Wie war der Konzert? - How was the concert? Gefällt Ihnen der Film? - Do you like the movie?
• per. nouns that are mentioned in a conversation or text: Ein Hund stand auf einmal vor meiner Tür. Der Hund war klein mit langen Ohren. “A dog suddenly appeared in front of my door. The dog was small with long ears.
• per. abstract concepts that are used for generalization: die Jugend - youth, die Heimat - Motherland, Das Leben kann so wunderschön sein! Life can be so wonderful!
• per. a noun that is defined with an adjective or a subordinate clause: Wir mieten die Wohnung im ersten Stock. We rent an apartment on the second floor. Sie hatte das Gefühl, krank zu sein. She had a feeling that she was sick.
• before geographical names (names of seas, lakes, mountains, etc.) and before the names of some countries: die Alpen - Alps, der Bodensee - Bodensee, der Ural - Ural, das Europa - Europe, der Süden - South, das Afrika — Africa; Italien - Italy, Frankreich - France, Russland - Russia, but: der Iran - Iran, die Schweiz - Switzerland, die Ukraine - Ukraine, die Philippinen - Philippines and others.
• before some proper names: der Marienplatz - Mariinsky Square, die Berliner Philharmoniker - Berlin Philharmonic.
• if the noun denotes the whole type of these objects or persons: Die Rose ist eine Blume. - A rose is a flower. Der Mensch ist sterblich - Man is mortal. Watt hat die Dampfmaschine erfunden - Watt invented the steam engine.
• colloquially before names: Die Meiers wollen umziehen. The Mayers want to move.

Def. art. in German it is also used for education:

• nouns from other parts of speech: das Spazierengehen - a walk, die Mutigen - daredevils, das Lesen - reading;
• adjectival superlatives: Tom ist der jüngste Schüler in unserer Klasse. Tom is the youngest student in our class.

You can also replace the prepositions pro and je in German with the definite article before a certain value or quantity: Der Stoff kostet zehn Euro der Meter. The fabric costs ten Euros per meter. Er verkauft den Tomaten für zwei Euro das Pfund. He sells tomatoes for two Euros a pound.

In German, as in Russian, every noun has a gender. And how is this genus expressed? With the help of the article!

Important: it is not at all necessary that the same word in German and Russian will have the same gender.

All nouns in German are always preceded by a function word - a definite or indefinite article.

Today we will focus on the definite article in detail. So, as you can see from the table:
article der- for the masculine singular
article das- for neuter singular
article die- for feminine singular
article die- for plural

Since the gender of a noun in German and Russian often does not match, we always learn that word together with the article: not just "Tisch", but "der Tisch". Otherwise, you simply cannot build a sentence correctly without knowing the gender of the noun.

Declension of the definite article.

The definite article changes depending on the case, so we see in which case the given noun is:

Hints hinting which article to use (what gender the noun has)

So, as you already understood, we learn all new words along with the article.

But is there a way to determine what kind of noun and what article to use? Yes, there are some tips to keep in mind!

Feminine gender (die):

1. Nouns ending in -ung, -schaft, -keit, -heit, -in, ei.

die Acht ung- respect

die Freund schaft- friendship

die Einsam keit- loneliness

die frei heit- Liberty

die Freund in- friend

die Backer ei– bakery

2. Foreign words ending in -age, -ade, -ät, -ie, -ik, -ion, etc.

die Band age– bandage

die Ball ade- ballad

die Facult at- faculty

die Akadem ie– academy

die Akrobat ik- acrobatics

die Diskuss ion- discussion (exceptions: das Stad ion, der Sp ion)

Masculine (der):

1. Nouns ending in -er, -ling, -s.

der Lehr er- teacher

der fremd ling- alien

der Fuch s- Fox

2. Foreign words ending in -al, -ant, -or, -ier, ist, etc. (most often they mean the names of persons)

der admiral - admiral

der Demonstration ant- demonstrator

der Agitat or- agitator

der bank ier - banker

der Art ist - artist

3. Seasons, months, days, hours and days (exception - die Nacht)

der Sommer - summer

der February - February

der Abend - evening

4. Cars

der Audi - Audi

der Ferrari - Ferrari

der Abend - evening

5. Natural phenomena

der Sturm - storm

der Nebel - mist

In German (as well as in some other languages), nouns are usually preceded by an article - a special function word. The article determines the number, gender, case of the noun.

There are 2 types of articles: 1) definite, 2) indefinite. Remember the definite article:

singular, nominative
der- masculine
die- feminine
das- neuter gender
die(single, h., f. R.) and das(singular, cf.) also denote the accusative case.

For instance:

der Arzt doctor
die Tante aunt
das fenster window

Remember! In German, all nouns are written with a capital (i.e. capital) letter. With the article, the noun is pronounced together, as one word. The stress on the article never falls. The article is not translated into Russian.

In the masculine and feminine articles, the vowel is semi-long: der, die, and in the neuter article, the vowel is short: das.

And now let's read the nouns known to you from the article.

der ‘Arzt doctor
der 'Mann the man
der 'Bruder brother
die 'Schwester sister
die 'Vase vase
die 'Tante aunt
das' fenster window
Das' Kind baby
Das' Zimmer room

From the examples, it becomes obvious that the gender of nouns in Russian and German sometimes does not match, and therefore the noun should be remembered along with the article, for example: das Kind (cf. gender) child(m. gender), das Zimmer (cf. gender) room(g. gender), etc.

Articles can be replaced by demonstrative pronouns. They have endings like the article, they also indicate the gender, number, case of the noun: dieser this(m. genus), dieses this(f. gender), dieses it(cf. gender), jener that(m. genus), Jene that(f. gender), jenes then(cf. gender).

The demonstrative pronoun and the noun are pronounced together. The stressed, as a rule, is a noun.

1. Read the nouns with the demonstrative pronoun.

dieser ‘Mann diese ‘Mutter dieses ‘Kind
dieser ‘Arzt diese ‘Vase dieses ‘Fenster

2. Replace the definite article in these sentences with a demonstrative pronoun. Read the sentences aloud. Follow the correct accent.

1. Das ‘Kind ‘friert immer. 2. Der ‘Arzt ‘sitzt unten. 3. Die ‘Mutter und der ‘Vater ‘warten unten. 4. Der ‘Tisch ‘steht nah. 5. Die 'Vase 'steht da.

3. Rewrite the sentences and put in the correct verb endings. Read the sentences aloud.

1. Diese Kind frag… immer. 2. Wir frier…sehr. 3. Der Bruder wart…unten. 4. Die Tante geh…. 5. Peter und Anna geh…zusammen. 6. Der Vater und die Mutter sitz… zusammen. 7. Dieser Tisch und diese Vase steh…da.

4. Check if you know the gender of these nouns. Write them with the definite article and then with the demonstrative pronoun.

Fenster, Arzt, Mutter, Kind, Mann, Tisch, Vater, Zimmer, Bruder

5. Translate into German.

1. The table is close. 2. The father is waiting. 3. He stands below. 4. Brother loves to study. 5. They always go together, 6. Mother and aunt sit and wait. 7. This man dances very well.

6. Read the following combinations, remember the rules for reading the phrase: demonstrative pronoun + noun.

jener 'Arzt, jener 'Bruder, jener 'Mann, jener 'Tisch
jene 'Mutter, jene 'Tante, jene 'Vase
Jenes' Kind, Jenes' Fenster, Jenes' Zimmer

7. Translate into German.

1. This man and this child. That man and that child. 2. This room and this window. That room and that window. 3. This table and this vase. That table and that vase.

Keys

3. 1. fragt 2. frieren 3. warten 4. geht 5. gehen 6. sitzen 7. stehen

4. das Fenster - dieses Fenster, der Arzt - dieser Arzt, die Mutter - diese Mutter, das Kind - dieses Kind, der Mann - dieser Mann, der Tisch - dieser Tisch, der Vater - dieser Vater, das Zimmer - dieses Zimmer, der Bruder

5. 1. Der Tisch steht nah. 2. Der Vater Wartet. 3. Er steht unten. 4. Der Bruder studiert gern. 5. Siegehen immer zusammen. 6. Die Mutter und die Tante sitzen und warten. 7. Dieser Mann tanzt sehr gut.

In German, a noun is used accompanied by a function word called article.

Article is of two types:

1. Definite(der bestimmte Artikel)
2. Hindefinite(der unbestimmte Artikel)

◊ By certain The article can determine the gender of a noun.

For instance:
m.r. - der Mann (male)
zh.r. - die Frau (woman)
s.r. - das Kind (child)

◊ undefined the article, in contrast to the definite, clearly indicates only the feminine gender, since the forms of the masculine and neuter gender coincide.

Compare: ein Mann- ein kind; but: eine Frau.

◊ By the article, you can determine the number of a noun. Plural is always— die.

das Zimmer (room) - die Zimmer (rooms)
der Schüler (student) - die Schüler (students)

◊Article also defines case noun.

In total, there are 4 cases in German, remember that in Russian there are 6.

Nominative(N.) - nominative (Wer? Was? Who? What?)
Genitive(G.) - genitive (Wessen? Whose?)
Dative(D.) - dative (Wem? Wo? Wann? Woher? To whom? What? Where when? Where?)
Accusative(A.) - accusative (Wen? Was? Wohin? Who? What? Where?)

m.r.s.r. zh.r. plural
N. der Mann das Kind die Frau die Leute
G. des Mannes des Kindes der Frau der Leute
D. dem Mann dem Kind der Frau den Leuten
A. den Mann das Kind die Frau die Leute

m. s.r. zh.r. plural

N. ein Mann ein Kind eine Frau -
G. eines Mannes eines Kindes einer Frau —
D. einem Mann einem Kind einer Frau -
A. einen Mann ein Kind eine Frau -

♦ In plural indefinite article missing!

♦ Article into Russian does not translate.

However, in the event that definite the article falls stress, it is translated by demonstrative pronouns this or that according to the general meaning.

For instance: ´Der Junge kann es schaffen. — This the boy can do it.
Das ist ja eben ´das Madchen. — This is just what it is that girl.

The indefinite article sometimes corresponds to pronouns in Russian one, some For example:

Das hat world ein Schriftsteller erzählt. — It told me one Writer.
Command phone! Ein Mädchen ruft dich an. — Come to the phone. Calling you some girl.

For almost all foreigners, articles are a nightmare. These small, but such insidious monsters have spoiled a lot of blood of strangers. After all, their use before a noun is mandatory. And there are no general rules for which gender a particular noun belongs to. There are definitions of the gender of nouns. But I still recommend:

Remember nouns with articles!

The good news is that there are cases where the article is not used.

Article missing:

• at the first mention of the subject in the plural, i.e. in the case when the singular is used indefinite article :

Ich sehe Kinder. - I see children.

Ich sehe ein Kind. - I see a child.

• if the noun is preceded by a possessive, demonstrative, negative pronoun or cardinal number :

Sein Kuli liegt auf dem Tisch. — His pen is on the table.
Sie hat keine Wohnung. — She doesn't have an apartment.
Wir sind hier funf Russen. — There are five Russians here.

• before proper names, names of countries, cities, villages, continents :

Europa, Asia, Africa, Deutschland, Russland, Berlin, Odessa

Berlin Liegt am Fluss Spree. — Berlin is located on the river Spree.

♦ But, if the names of cities and countries are used with a definition, then they are preceded by a definite article:
Im heutigen Moskau werden viele neue Wohnviertel gebaut. — In modern Moscow, many residential areas are being built.

◊ Names of most countries and all cities (except der Gaag) neuter.

◊ Male and female genders include: der Iraq, der Sudan, der Kosovo, die Türkei, die Ukraine, die Schweiz, die Niederlande, die USA.

• before nouns denoting professions, occupation, nationality as part of a nominal predicate; day of the week, season :

Sie ist Arztin. - She is a doctor .
Erist Russe. - He is Russian .
Heute ist Sonntag. — Today is Sunday.

♦ But, if a complex nominal predicate has with it definition, then in this case we use uncertain article:

Er ist ein gutter Arzt. - He is a good doctor.

• before the names of subjects :

Sie studiert Chemie. — She is studying chemistry.

• before real nouns :

Er trinkt viel Kaffee ohne Zucker. — He drinks a lot of coffee without sugar.

♦ But, if you mean a specific part of a substance, used definite article:

Die Milch, die du gestern gekauft hast, schmeckt nicht. — The milk you bought yesterday is not tasty.
Der Kaffee ist schon kalt. — The coffee is already cold.
Bas Brot von gestern ist schon trocken. — Yesterday's bread is already dry.

• when applying, indicating the academic degree, position :

Professor Schmidt ist heute sehr beschäftigt. — Professor Schmidt is very busy today.
Herr Direktor, darf ich Sie bitten… — Sir, may I ask you...

• in stable phrases, expressions; sayings :

Alle wollten mit dieser Schauspielerin Bekanntschaft Schließen. — Everybody wanted become acquainted with this actress.
Wissen ist Macht. - Knowledge is power.

Use of the indefinite article

Indefinite article used:

• at the first mention of an unknown object or person

Dort geht eine Frau. — There goes a woman.

• in a compound nominal predicate

Das ist ein house. - This is a house.

• after the verbs haben, brauchen and the impersonal phrase es gibt

Er hat einen Opa. — He has a grandfather.
Ich brauche ein Wörterbuch. — I need a dictionary.
Hier gibt es noch einen Platzt. — There is another place here.

• before nouns in comparison function

Sie ist listig wie ein Fuchs. — She is smart as a fox.

♦ In all other cases, the definite article is used ( der, die, das- singular; die- plural).

We look.