Lesson 8: Adjectives
In this lesson you will learn how to use adjectives to describe nouns!
No Declination - Adjectives behind the Noun
Like in English, adjectives can be connected to a noun with a verb (a so called copula, for example to be), in that case they come after the verb and no declination happens, you can just use the dictionary form!
The dog is brown.
Der Hund ist braun.
She becomes old.
Sie wird alt.
She stays beautiful.
Sie bleibt hübsch.
The examples used the verbs sein (to be), werden (to become) and bleiben (to stay), which all three are often used that way with adjectives.
Adjectives can also be used as adverbs, which means they are used to describe a verb instead of a noun, so they answer the question How is an action done? In English, you have to change the adjective to do that (by adding an -ly), but in German the plain dictionary form is placed after the verb:
The dog runs slowly.
Der Hund rennt langsam.
She sings loudly.
Sie singt laut.
He waits impatiently.
Er wartet ungeduldig.
Adjectives before the Noun
If you use an adjective before a noun, then it changes it form based on number and grammatical gender of the noun, but also dependent on which article you use and in which case (subject, direct object, indirect object, genitive) the noun is. This results in a large number of different forms adjectives can take.
Note: The genitive was not discussed before and is just included in the tables for the sake of completeness.
Definite Article
With the definite article, only two endings are possible: -e and -en. Also, since there are only two different possibilities for plural articles, the declination of the adjective for plural nouns is independent from gender. The following table shows all forms with the example adjective schwarz (black):
Case
masculine
feminine
neuter
plural
Nominativ (Subject)
der schwarze Hund
die schwarze Katze
das schwarze Schaf
die schwarzen Hunde
Akkusativ (Direct object)
den schwarzen Hund
die schwarze Katze
das schwarze Schaf
die schwarzen Hunde
Dativ (Indirect object)
dem schwarzen Hund
der schwarzen Katze
dem schwarzen Schaf
den schwarzen Hunden
Genitiv (Genitive)
des schwarzen Hundes
der schwarzen Katze
des schwarzen Schafes
der schwarzen Hunde
Note: Adjectives use the same endings after some other words: dieser (this), jeder (every), jener (that), mancher (some), welcher (which) and, only in the plural forms: alle (all), solche (such), keine (no), possessive pronouns like meine (my) wenn the following noun is plural, ...
These words themself use different endings based on gender, number and case, we will learn about that in a future lesson!
Indefinite Article
Since there is no plural form of indefinite artivles we only have to look at the singular forms here. Sadly, here four different endings are possible:
Case
masculine
feminine
neuter
Nominativ (Subject)
ein schwarzer Hund
eine schwarze Katze
ein schwarzes Schaf
Akkusativ (Direct object)
einen schwarzen Hund
eine schwarze Katze
ein schwarzes Schaf
Dativ (Indirect object)
einem schwarzen Hund
einer schwarzen Katze
einem schwarzen Schaf
Genitiv (Genitive)
eines schwarzen Hundes
einer schwarzen Katze
eines schwarzen Schafes
Some tips for remembering the forms: In the genitive and dative forms, just always add an -en. The subject form actually corresponds to the last letter of the definite article: der Hund -> ein schwarzer Hund, die Katze -> eine schwarze Katze, das Schaf -> ein schwarzes Schaf. In the direct object, these forms stay for feminine and neuter, only the masculine changes to -en.
Note: Adjectives have the same forms after all possesive pronouns when the following noun is singular, and the singular form of kein (no)
No Article
If there is no article, then the adjective shows the noun case. Therefore nouns used without article have the most complicated forms:
Case
masculine
feminine
neuter
plural
Nominativ (Subject)
schwarzer Hund
schwarze Katze
schwarzes Schaf
schwarze Hunde
Akkusativ (Direct object)
schwarzen Hund
schwarze Katze
schwarzes Schaf
schwarze Hunde
Dativ (Indirect object)
schwarzem Hund
schwarzen Katze
schwarzem Schaf
schwarzen Hunden
Genitiv (Genitive)
schwarzen Hundes
schwarzer Katze
schwarzen Schafes
schwarzer Hunde
Good news: In the most cases, especially in the singular, nouns are used with an article, therefore knowing all these forms is not that important for the beginning.
Tip: Again, in the most cases the adjective ending corresponds with the last letter of the definite article! So when studying these endings, compare them with the definite article overview to see which are similar and where the differences are.
Note: Adjectives have the same forms after the words etwas (a bit), mehr (more), manch (many a), solch (such), viel (much), wenig (little) and most number adjectives.
Comparisons
Comparative and Superlative
Like in English, adjectives can have three different forms: The normal form (for example big), the comparative form (for example bigger) and the superlative form (for example the biggest).
Building the comparative form works like in English: Just add an -er to the adjective! The superlative can have two different forms: If used with the direct article, you add an -(e)ste, if it is used in a construction with the word am, you add -(e)sten:
Adjective
Comparative
Superlative
schön (beautiful)
schöner
am schönsten | der/die/das schönste
schnell (fast)
schneller
am schnellsten | der/die/das schnellste
hübsch (pretty)
hübscher
am hübschesten | der/die/das hübscheste
In the last example you see that sometimes an -e is added in the superlative to make it pronouncable - this happens after -d, -ß, -sch, -t, -tz, -x and -z.
Note: After building the comparative or superlative form, you then have to add the normal adjectives endings when using it! Some examples with the comparative:
schnell -> schneller
The fast dog./The faster dog.
Der schnelle Hund./Der schnellere Hund.
klein -> kleiner
I see the small children./I see the smaller children.
Ich sehe die kleinen Kinder./Ich sehe die kleineren Kinder.
schnell -> schneller
He is fast./He is faster./He is the faster one.
Er ist schnell./Er ist schneller./Er ist der Schnellere.
In the last example you see that like any other adjectives, you don't need any endings when using it after the noun. Exception: In the very last sentence you need the subjective ending, because you use it with the definite article! You also see that it is capitalized - together with the definite article, and without another noun following, the adjective itself becomes a noun.
Some adjectives build the other forms with an Umlaut:
Adjective
Comparative
Superlative
schwarz (black)
schwärzer
am schwärzesten
alt (old)
älter
am ältesten
lang (long)
länger
am längsten
Some (but not all!) other adjectives which work that way: jung (young), kurz (short), arm (poor), groß (big), kalt (cold), warm (warm), klug (smart), stark (strong), schwach (weak), gesund (healthy), krank (ill)
Finally, there are a few irregular adjectives that are good to know - English uses different words for them too:
Adjective
Comparative
Superlative
gut (good)
besser (better)
am besten (the best)
viel (much)
mehr (more)
am meisten (the most)
gern(e) (gladly)
lieber (rather, preferably)
am liebsten (best)
Comparing Things
We can compare things in two different ways: We can say that something is adjectiv-er/more adjective than something else, or we can say that two things are identical, so something is as adjective as something else.
First, let's start with equality. There are different ways to build that in German, but so [adjective] wie is the most common one. Like in English you can also use a very similar structure to express that something is double as adjective as something, five times as, ..., also it can be used with adverbs:
Der Hund ist (genau) so groß wie der Tisch.
The dog is as big as the table.
Der Hund ist ebenso groß wie der Tisch.
The dog is as big as the table.
Der Hund ist doppelt so groß wie der Tisch.
The dog is twice as big as the table.
Der Tisch ist fünfmal so groß wie der Hund.
The table is five times as big as the dog.
Der Hund rennt (genau) so schnell wie die Katze.
The dog runs as fast as the cat.
Der Hund ist nicht so groß wie der Tisch.
The dog is not as big as the table.
Der Hund rennt nicht so schnell wie die Katze.
The dog runs not as fast as the cat.
For saying that something is more [adjective] than something else, we use the comparative and the word als. Note, that it is a common mistake even among Germans to mix up the words wie and als in these two constructions - wie is to say that two things are equal, als says that something is [adjectiv]-er than something else!
Here are some examples:
Ich bin schneller als du.
I am faster than you.
Der Hund rennt schneller als die Katze.
The dog is as big as the table.
Er ist intelligenter als ich.
He is more intelligent than I am.
Sie ist größer als er.
She is taller than he is.
Exercises
1. Fill in the right adjective forms
a) (green) Die grüne Hose ist (beautiful) schöner als die (red) Rote.
The green pants is more beautiful than the red one.
b) Ich sehe den (big) großen Hund.
I see the big dog.
c) Die (friendly) freudliche Frau gibt dem (small) kleinen jungen (healthy) gesundes Essen.
The friendly woman gives the small boy healthy food.
d) Er zieht sich die (black) schwarze Jacke an.
He puts on the black jacket.
e) Die (yellow) gelben Vögel fliegen in den (warm) warmen Süden.
The yellow birds fly to the warm South.
f) Die (black) schwarzen Hunde folgen den (colorful) bunten Vögeln.
You (pl) give the cat water.
g) Die (small) kleinen Pferde rennen (fast) schneller als die (brown) braunen Hunde.
The small horses run faster than the brown dogs.
h) Der Hund ist genauso (cute) niedlich wie die Katze.
The dog is as cute as the cat.
2. Listening Exercise: Listen to the audios, write down what is said and translate the sentences
Ich möchte das große blaue Eis mit bunten Streusel.
I want the big blue ice cream with colorful sprinkles.
Die hellgrüne Pflanze ist dreimal so groß wie die Dunkelgrüne.
The light green plant is three times as big as the dark green one.
Ich lese gerne lange Geschichten, aber Comics sind spannender.
I like to read long stories, but comic books are more exciting.
Der große Hund ist schneller als der kleine Hund, aber der schwarze Hund rennt am schnellsten.
The big dog is faster than the small dog, but the black dog runs the fastest.
3. Translate the sentences
a) Ich sehe das große, grüne Krokodil.
I see the big, green crocodile.
b) They give the big, green crocodile fresh meat.
Sie geben dem großen, grünen Krokodil frisches Fleisch.
c) Der alte Mann hilft den kleinen Welpen.
The old man helps the small puppy.
d) She cooks better than I do, but I cook faster.
Sie kocht besser als ich, aber ich koche schneller.
e) Intelligenz ist nützlicher als Stärke.
Intelligence is more useful than strenght.
f) I like light colors more than dark ones.
Ich mag helle Farben lieber als dunkle.
g) Ich bin ebenso schnell wie du.
I am as fast as you are.
g) Blue is the most beautiful color.
Blau ist die schönste Farbe.
4. Look around in your room. Pick five objects and write sentences describing them with adjectives
For example: You pick a plant with purple flowers, then you can write sentences like Die grüne Pflanze hat lila Blüten. Sie ist größer als das Kissen. Sie ist so groß wie der Stuhl. Feel free to send me your sentences on Discord (Tekre#3259) if you want them corrected!