German Adjective Endings

Why This Matters

Adjective endings are the grammatical glue that holds German sentences together—and they're one of the most frequently tested grammar concepts on the AP German exam. Whether you're describing die schöne Landschaft in a cultural comparison essay, crafting a persuasive argument about erneuerbare Energien, or responding to an audio prompt about deutsche Familienrollen, your ability to correctly decline adjectives signals true command of the language. The exam rewards students who can seamlessly integrate adjectives into complex sentences across all four cases.

Here's what you're really being tested on: the relationship between articles, adjectives, and nouns. German adjectives don't just describe—they carry grammatical information about gender, case, and number. The key principle? Someone has to show the case. If the article already signals the gender and case clearly, the adjective relaxes into a simple -e or -en ending. If there's no article—or an article that doesn't fully signal the case—the adjective picks up the slack with a strong ending. Don't just memorize charts; understand why endings change based on what information is already present in the sentence.

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The Core Principle: Who Shows the Case?

German adjective endings follow one elegant rule: grammatical information must appear somewhere before the noun. When you understand this principle, the three declension patterns—strong, weak, and mixed—become logical rather than arbitrary.

Strong Endings (No Article Present)

• Used when no article precedes the adjective—the adjective must carry all grammatical signals for gender, case, and number
• Endings mirror definite article endings—think der, die, das → -er, -e, -es (nominative); the adjective essentially becomes the article
• Common in AP contexts like menus, headlines, and formal descriptions: frischer Kaffee, kaltes Wasser, deutsche Kunst

Weak Endings (After Definite Articles)

• Used after der-words (der, die, das, dieser, jeder, welcher)—since the article already signals gender and case clearly
• Only two possible endings: -e or -en—nominative singular uses -e; everything else uses -en
• The easiest pattern to master—once you recognize a der-word, you know the adjective takes a "relaxed" ending

Mixed Endings (After Indefinite Articles)

• Used after ein-words (ein, kein, mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer)—these articles don't always show gender clearly
• Nominative masculine and nominative/accusative neuter take strong endings—because ein alone doesn't distinguish ein Mann from ein Kind
• All other positions use weak endings—once the case is clear from context or the article's form, the adjective relaxes

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Endings by Case: What Changes and Why

Each grammatical case triggers specific ending patterns. Understanding the function of each case helps you predict endings in real-time during the exam.

Nominative Case Endings

• Marks the subject of the sentence—the person or thing performing the action
• Strong endings mirror article endings: -er (masc.), -e (fem.), -es (neut.), -e (plural)
• Weak endings after der-words: -e for all singular nominatives, -en for plural

Accusative Case Endings

• Marks the direct object—what receives the action directly
• Only masculine changes from nominative—feminine, neuter, and plural stay the same
• Key shift: masculine strong -er → -en; masculine weak stays -en (it was already -en in most positions)

Dative Case Endings

• Marks the indirect object—to whom or for whom something is done
• Strong endings: -em (masc./neut.), -er (fem.), -en (plural)
• Weak endings simplify to -en across the board—the easiest dative pattern to remember

Genitive Case Endings

• Indicates possession or relationship—less common in spoken German but still tested
• Strong endings: -en (masc./neut.), -er (fem.), -en (plural)
• Weak endings: -en for everything—genitive is the most uniform case for adjectives

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Practical Patterns for the Exam

These patterns appear constantly in AP German reading passages, audio clips, and writing prompts. Recognizing them quickly frees up mental energy for comprehension and composition.

Adjectives After Definite Articles

• Pattern is highly predictable—nominative singular gets -e; all other positions get -en
• Appears in formal writing and news articles—die deutsche Regierung, den europäischen Markt
• Exam tip: If you see der/die/das/den/dem/des, default to -en unless it's nominative singular

Adjectives After Indefinite Articles

• Three positions take strong endings—nominative masculine (ein alter Freund), nominative neuter (ein kleines Kind), accusative neuter (ein kleines Kind)
• Everything else takes -en—accusative masculine, all datives, all genitives, all feminines after nominative
• Watch for possessives—mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer follow the same mixed pattern as ein

Adjectives With No Article

• Strong endings throughout—the adjective does all the grammatical work
• Common in cultural contexts: deutscher Wein, frische Luft, moderne Kunst
• Plural without article uses -e in nominative/accusative—junge Leute, alte Freunde

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Why does ein alter Mann use -er while der alte Mann uses -e, even though both are nominative masculine?

2. Which three positions in the mixed declension require strong adjective endings, and what do they have in common?

3. Compare mit kaltem Wasser and mit dem kalten Wasser—explain why the adjective endings differ despite both being dative neuter.

4. If an FRQ asks you to describe deutsche Familienrollen without using articles, what adjective ending pattern would you use, and why?

5. You're writing about die Energiewende and want to add the adjective wichtig. What ending do you use in the nominative, accusative, and dative cases, and how do you know?