German Grammar
A structured guide through German grammar from beginner to advanced. Each topic includes clear explanations, reference tables, example sentences, and common mistakes to avoid.
A1 — Beginner
Essential building blocks: articles, basic word order, present tense, and an introduction to cases.
German Cases Overview
German has four grammatical cases — Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive — that change articles, pronouns, and adjective endings depending on a word's role in the sentence.
German Nominative Case
The nominative case marks the subject of a sentence — the person or thing performing the action. It is also used after the verb 'sein' (to be) and determines the base form of articles: der, die, das.
German Present Tense (Präsens)
The present tense (Präsens) is used for current actions, habitual activities, and future events. Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern of endings: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en.
Der, Die, Das — German Articles & Gender
Every German noun has a grammatical gender — masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das). Gender determines which articles and endings to use and must be memorized with each noun.
German Word Order Basics
German word order follows the V2 rule: the conjugated verb is always in the second position in main clauses. Time-Manner-Place (TMP) governs the order of adverbial information.
A2 — Elementary
Expand your foundation: accusative & dative cases, past tense, modal verbs, and prepositions.
German Accusative Case
The accusative case marks the direct object — the person or thing directly affected by the verb's action. Only masculine articles change: der becomes den, ein becomes einen.
German Dative Case
The dative case marks the indirect object — the person or thing receiving the action indirectly. Articles change: der→dem, die→der, das→dem. Many common verbs exclusively take the dative.
German Perfect Tense (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is the most common past tense in spoken German. It uses a helper verb (haben or sein) plus a past participle: 'Ich habe gegessen' (I have eaten / I ate).
German Modal Verbs
German has six modal verbs — können, müssen, wollen, sollen, dürfen, mögen — that modify the meaning of the main verb. The main verb goes to the end in infinitive form.
German Separable Verbs
Separable verbs (trennbare Verben) split apart in main clauses: the prefix goes to the end while the conjugated stem stays in position two. 'Ich rufe dich an' — anrufen splits into 'rufe...an'.
German Prepositions (Akkusativ & Dativ)
German prepositions govern specific cases. Some always take accusative (für, durch, gegen, ohne, um), some always take dative (aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu), and nine two-way prepositions take either depending on movement vs. location.
B1 — Intermediate
Deepen your skills: genitive case, adjective endings, relative clauses, and complex sentences.
German Genitive Case
The genitive case shows possession and is the equivalent of English 'of' or apostrophe-s. Masculine and neuter nouns add -(e)s, articles change: der→des, die→der, das→des.
German Simple Past (Präteritum)
The Präteritum (simple past) is mainly used in written German and for sein, haben, and modal verbs in speech. Regular verbs add -te to the stem; irregular verbs change their stem vowel.
German Adjective Endings
German adjectives before nouns must take endings that depend on three factors: the gender/case of the noun, whether a definite article, indefinite article, or no article precedes them.
German Relative Clauses
Relative clauses provide additional information about a noun using relative pronouns (der, die, das, etc.). The verb moves to the end, and the relative pronoun's case depends on its function within the clause.
German Subordinate Clauses & Word Order
Subordinate clauses (Nebensätze) are introduced by conjunctions like weil, dass, wenn, ob, and obwohl. The key rule: the conjugated verb moves to the very end of the subordinate clause.
B2 — Upper Intermediate
Refine your German: passive voice, subjunctive mood, reflexive verbs, and indirect speech.
German Passive Voice
The German passive voice (Passiv) shifts focus from who performs an action to what happens. It is formed with 'werden' + past participle: 'Das Buch wird gelesen' (The book is being read).
Konjunktiv II — Subjunctive Mood in German
Konjunktiv II expresses hypothetical situations, polite requests, and wishes. It is most commonly formed with 'würde' + infinitive, but high-frequency verbs (wäre, hätte, könnte) use their own Konjunktiv II forms.
German Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs use a reflexive pronoun (sich) to indicate that the subject and object are the same person. Many everyday German verbs are reflexive that are not in English: sich freuen, sich erinnern, sich beeilen.
Indirect Speech in German (Konjunktiv I)
Konjunktiv I is used to report what someone else said without confirming or denying it. It is formed from the infinitive stem + special endings: er sage → er habe gesagt. If identical to the indicative, Konjunktiv II is used instead.