The different cases are used depending on the function of the noun in the sentence. The noun can be the subject, direct object or the indirect object of a sentence. Don’t worry we’ll explain all that over the next few pages. One good thing about German is that the noun always starts with a capital letter. That makes it much easier to spot! Check out this free lesson on the German nominative.
Resources for further reading:
How to pronounce the German Nominative
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
In this example the dog (“der Hund”) is doing the action, therefore he is the subject of the sentence. The nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence.
For example:
In German the nominative is often referred to as the “who-case” (“der Werfall”) , because you can use the question words “who ” or “ what ” to find out what the subject of the sentence is. For example: The sun is shining. What is shining? The sun . The sun is the subject and therefore in the nominative case.
The nominative uses the articles “der”, “die”, “das” and “ein”, “eine”, “ein”. Which article is used depends on the gender of the noun. In some cases a noun doesn’t need an article at all, for example names, like Jana or Melina. Have a look at the examples below. The nominative is underlined.
For example:
Here are a few recommended German lessons to try next!
- If you want to name a place or person in German, then this German nouns lesson is for you.
- German pronouns are a must-know. Get started here.
- Let's take a look at the German verb stems.
Bis bald!
Paul Weber: Rocket German