This deep dive covers When does an adjective take an ending? within Adjective endings for GCSE German. Revise Adjective endings in Core Grammar Toolkit for GCSE German with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 2 of 4 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📋 When does an adjective take an ending?
⭐ The golden rule
Adjective AFTER the verb (predicate) = NO ending:
Der Mann ist groß. Die Suppe ist heiß.
Adjective BEFORE the noun = it NEEDS an ending:
der große Mann, die heiße Suppe.
📋 After der / die / das (weak endings)
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der gute Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | die guten Kinder |
| Accusative | den guten Mann | die gute Frau | das gute Kind | die guten Kinder |
Rule of thumb after der / die / das: -e in the nominative singular, and -en almost everywhere else. (der Mann, die Männer; die Frau, die Frauen; das Kind, die Kinder)
📋 After ein-words (mixed endings)
This group covers ein, kein, and the possessives (mein, dein, sein …).
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein guter Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind |
| Accusative | einen guten Mann | eine gute Frau | ein gutes Kind |
Because ein on its own does not show the gender, the adjective has to do the work: -er for masculine, -e for feminine, -es for neuter in the nominative.
📎 With no article (strong endings)
When there is no article at all, the adjective takes the ending the article would have had:
guter Wein, kalte Milch, frisches Brot.
good wine, cold milk, fresh bread. (der Wein, die Weine; die Milch; das Brot, die Brote)
Das ist ein schönes Haus und ein guter Garten.
That is a beautiful house and a lovely garden.
- ein schönes Haus = neuter ein-word → -es. (das Haus, die Häuser)
- ein guter Garten = masculine ein-word, nominative → -er. (der Garten, die Gärten)
Ich fahre mit dem roten Auto meines Vaters.
I'm driving my father's red car.
- mit dem roten Auto = dative after a der-word → -en. (das Auto, die Autos)
- The adjective simply follows the case set by the preposition mit, which always takes the dative.
Practice questions for Adjective endings
Which adjective ending is correct? 'Die ___ Frau singt.' (The beautiful woman is singing.)
Which adjective ending is correct for plural? 'Die ___ Kinder spielen.' (The small children are playing.)