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Expat SpeakFree Resources A1 German

Grammar

Nouns, cases and negation

Noun gender, plurals and countability

A singular German noun commonly has der, die or das. Learn article + noun + plural as one record: der Tisch, die Tische; die Stadt, die Städte; das Kind, die Kinder. All three use die in the nominative plural. There is no universally reliable plural ending: -e, -er, -(e)n, -s, no ending, and umlaut changes all occur.

Some gender patterns help: endings -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft are generally feminine; diminutives -chen/-lein are neuter. These do not justify guessing every unfamiliar noun.

A countable plural needs no indefinite equivalent of “a”: ein Buch → Bücher. Many substance/abstract uses are normally singular: Wasser, Milch, Geld, Zeit. They may develop countable plural senses in other contexts.

Example
Das ist ein Zimmer. Die Wohnung hat drei Zimmer.
English
That is a room. The apartment has three rooms.
Hinglish
Yeh ek kamra hai. Flat mein teen kamre hain.
Worked example

eine Tasche / zwei Taschen; ein Mann / zwei Männer; ein Haus / zwei Häuser.

Hinglish: ek bag / do bags; ek aadmi / do aadmi; ek ghar / do ghar.

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