German Essential grammar

Abbreviations used in this guide

Each example below has three parts: the original text, a literal gloss describing how every word works, and a natural translation. The glosses use a few shorthand labels so they stay short. Don't worry about memorising them — this is a reference you can come back to.

Person and number · 1sg / 2sg / 3sg — first / second / third person singular (I, you, he/she/it) · 1pl / 2pl / 3pl — first / second / third person plural (we, you-all, they)

Gender and case · m / f / n — masculine / feminine / neuter · sg / pl — singular / plural · m.sg — combined: masculine singular (and similarly f.pl, n.sg, etc.) · NOM / ACC / GEN / DAT / INS / LOC — grammatical cases (nominative/accusative/genitive/dative/instrumental/locative) — which role the word plays in the sentence

Tense and aspect · PRES — present · PRET — preterite (a finished past event) · IMPF — imperfect (an ongoing or habitual past situation) · FUT — future · PERF — perfect (an action completed with present relevance) · PROG — progressive (action in progress, e.g. am eating) · COND — conditional (would…)

Mood · IND — indicative (regular statement) · SUBJ — subjunctive (uncertainty, wishes, doubts) · IMP — imperative (commands) · INF — infinitive (dictionary form: to go, to eat)

Other · REFL — reflexive (action on oneself: myself, yourself) · PERS — personal a (Spanish only — marks a human direct object) · HON — honorific (extra-polite form, common in Japanese/Korean) · TOP / SUB / OBJ — topic / subject / object markers (Japanese, Korean) · CL — classifier (Chinese, Japanese, Korean — a counter word for nouns) · NEG — negation

Word order and the verbal bracket

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the conjugated verb is always the second element, no matter what comes first. The subject can sit before or after that verb. In subordinate clauses (introduced by weil, dass, wenn, ob...) the conjugated verb moves to the very end. When a sentence has two verbal parts (modal + infinitive, auxiliary + participle, separable prefix verb), they form a 'bracket': the conjugated verb stays in V2 and the other piece is pushed to the end of the clause. Everything else (objects, time, manner, place) is squeezed inside that bracket.

• Heute gehe ich ins Kino. — Today go I to-the cinema.
  Today I'm going to the cinema.
• Ich habe gestern einen Film gesehen. — I have yesterday a film seen.
  I saw a film yesterday.
• Ich weiß, dass er morgen kommt. — I know that he tomorrow comes.
  I know that he is coming tomorrow.

The three genders

Every German noun is masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das), and the article must be learned with the word. Endings give strong hints. Masculine: nouns ending in -er, -ling, -ich, -ig, most days, months, seasons, weather words. Feminine: -e (most), -heit, -keit, -ung, -schaft, -ion, -ie, -tät. Neuter: diminutives in -chen and -lein (always), -ment, -um, most words for young creatures, and infinitives used as nouns. The gender controls article, adjective ending and pronoun, so it is structurally central, not decorative.

• der Lehrer, die Lehrerin, das Mädchen — the teacher-m, the teacher-f, the girl-n
  the (male) teacher, the (female) teacher, the girl.
• die Freiheit, die Zeitung, die Universität — the freedom, the newspaper, the university
  Feminine endings -heit, -ung, -tät.
• das Häuschen, das Dokument, das Datum — the little-house, the document, the date
  Neuter by -chen, -ment, -um.

The four cases

German marks the role of a noun phrase with four cases. Nominative is the subject (the 'who/what does it'). Accusative is the direct object (what is directly acted on) and is also required by some prepositions (durch, für, gegen, ohne, um). Dative is the indirect object (the recipient, the 'to whom') and is required by aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu and by many verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen). Genitive shows possession or relation and follows wegen, trotz, während, statt. Two-way prepositions (in, an, auf, unter...) take accusative for motion-into and dative for static location.

• Der Mann gibt dem Kind einen Apfel. — The-N man gives the-D child an-A apple.
  The man gives the child an apple.
• Das Auto meines Bruders ist neu. — The car my-Gen brother's is new.
  My brother's car is new.
• Ich gehe in die Schule. Ich bin in der Schule. — I go into the-A school. I am in the-D school.
  Motion = accusative, location = dative.

Definite and indefinite article declension

Articles change for gender, number and case. Definite article: Nominative der/die/das/die, Accusative den/die/das/die, Dative dem/der/dem/den (+ noun-n), Genitive des/der/des/der (+ noun-(e)s on masc/neut). Indefinite article ein/eine: Nominative ein/eine/ein, Accusative einen/eine/ein, Dative einem/einer/einem, Genitive eines/einer/eines. There is no plural indefinite (just bare noun, or use 'keine' for none). Possessives (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr/Ihr) and 'kein' decline exactly like 'ein' and are called ein-words.

• Ich sehe den Hund, die Katze und das Pferd. — I see the-A.m dog, the-A.f cat and the-A.n horse.
  I see the dog, the cat and the horse.
• Ich helfe einem Freund und einer Freundin. — I help a-D.m friend and a-D.f friend.
  I'm helping a (male) friend and a (female) friend.
• Das ist das Buch meines Vaters. — That is the book my-Gen father's.
  That is my father's book.

Personal pronouns

Nominative: ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie. 'du' is singular informal; 'ihr' is plural informal; 'Sie' (capitalised) is formal singular and plural. The pronoun also changes for case. Accusative: mich, dich, ihn, sie, es, uns, euch, sie/Sie. Dative: mir, dir, ihm, ihr, ihm, uns, euch, ihnen/Ihnen. There is no separate genitive in everyday use; possession is expressed by possessive adjectives (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr/Ihr). The third-person pronoun must match the noun's grammatical gender, not biological sex, so a table (der Tisch) is 'er'.

• Er gibt mir das Buch und ich gebe es ihm zurück. — He gives me-D the book and I give it him-D back.
  He gives me the book and I give it back to him.
• Kennst du sie? Ja, ich kenne sie gut. — Know you-inf her-A? Yes, I know her-A well.
  Do you know her? Yes, I know her well.
• Wo ist der Schlüssel? Er liegt auf dem Tisch. — Where is the key? He lies on the table.
  Where is the key? It's on the table.

Verb conjugation and key irregulars

A regular German verb takes the stem (infinitive minus -en) plus the personal ending: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en (ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie). Verbs whose stems end in -d/-t insert -e- before -st and -t (arbeitest, arbeitet). Many strong verbs change the stem vowel in du/er/sie/es of the present (a → ä, e → i/ie). The four most important irregulars are sein (to be), haben (to have), werden (to become / future + passive) and gehen (to go); their forms must be memorised.

• ich bin, du bist, er ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie sind — to be – present
  Full present of sein.
• ich habe, du hast, er hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie haben — to have – present
  Full present of haben.
• ich werde, du wirst, er wird, wir werden, ihr werdet, sie werden — to become – present
  Full present of werden (also forms future/passive).

Present tense

German has only one present tense; it covers English simple present and present continuous. 'Ich lese' means both 'I read' and 'I am reading'. The present is also routinely used for the near future when a time expression makes it clear ('Ich komme morgen' = 'I will come tomorrow'). Strong verbs change the stem vowel in 2nd and 3rd person singular: fahren → du fährst, er fährt; sprechen → du sprichst, er spricht; sehen → du siehst, er sieht. Otherwise endings are perfectly regular: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en.

• Ich lerne jeden Tag Deutsch. — I learn every day German.
  I learn / am learning German every day.
• Du fährst zu schnell! — You drive too fast (vowel change a→ä).
  You're driving too fast!
• Morgen fliegen wir nach Berlin. — Tomorrow fly we to Berlin.
  Tomorrow we will fly to Berlin.

Perfekt vs Präteritum

Spoken German uses the Perfekt for almost all past events: auxiliary haben or sein (present tense) + Partizip II at the end of the clause. Sein is used with verbs of motion or change of state (gehen, fahren, kommen, werden, sterben) and with sein/bleiben itself; haben is used with everything else. The Präteritum (simple past: ich ging, ich machte, ich sah) is the written/literary past and is used in narration; in speech only sein, haben, werden and the modals are normally used in Präteritum (war, hatte, wurde, konnte...).

• Ich habe gestern einen Brief geschrieben. — I have yesterday a letter written.
  I wrote a letter yesterday.
• Wir sind nach Berlin gefahren. — We are to Berlin driven.
  We drove/went to Berlin.
• Es war einmal ein König, der hatte drei Töchter. — It was once a king who had three daughters.
  Once upon a time there was a king who had three daughters.

Future tense

The Futur I is formed with the conjugated present of werden + infinitive at the end of the clause: ich werde gehen, du wirst gehen, er wird gehen, wir werden gehen, ihr werdet gehen, sie werden gehen. In everyday German, however, this tense is mainly used to express a prediction, a promise, an assumption or strong intention. For ordinary future events Germans simply use the present plus a time word (morgen, nächste Woche). Futur II (werde + Partizip II + haben/sein) expresses something assumed to be finished by a future point.

• Ich werde dich morgen anrufen. — I will you tomorrow up-call.
  I will call you tomorrow.
• Es wird bald regnen. — It will soon rain.
  It's going to rain soon.
• Nächstes Jahr studiere ich in Wien. — Next year study I in Vienna.
  Next year I'll study in Vienna (present used for future).

Present tense of regular (weak) verbs

Weak verbs are the predictable, fully regular German verbs. To conjugate, take the infinitive, drop the final -en, and add the personal ending: -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en. The vowel of the stem never changes (compare strong verbs like fahren / fährt). The verb 'machen' (to do, to make) is the textbook model:

When the stem ends in -d, -t, or in a consonant cluster that would make pronunciation awkward (-tm-, -ffn-, -chn-), an extra -e- is inserted before -st and -t. The verb 'arbeiten' (to work) shows this:

Same pattern: reden (du redest), warten (du wartest), finden (du findest), atmen (du atmest), öffnen (du öffnest). Verbs whose stem ends in -s, -ss, -ß, -z, -tz fuse with the du-ending and write only -t: reisen → du reist, heißen → du heißt, sitzen → du sitzt, tanzen → du tanzt.

• Ich mache jeden Tag Sport. — I do every day sport.
  I do exercise every day.
• Was machst du am Wochenende? — What do you-inf on-the weekend?
  What are you doing this weekend?
• Sie arbeitet als Ärztin in Berlin. — She works as doctor-f in Berlin.
  She works as a doctor in Berlin.
• Wir arbeiten heute bis sechs Uhr. — We work today until six o'clock.
  We're working until six today.
• Ihr wartet schon eine Stunde. — You-pl wait already one hour.
  You've been waiting for an hour already.
• Wie heißt du? Ich heiße Anna. — How are-called you-inf? I am-called Anna.
  What's your name? My name is Anna.

wollen + Infinitiv (to want to)

To say 'I want to do X' German uses the modal verb 'wollen' plus the bare infinitive of the main verb at the end of the clause. 'Wollen' is irregular in the singular (vowel change o → i in ich/du/er) and is one of the six core modals. Note: 'wollen' is strong and direct. For polite requests ('I would like'), Germans use 'möchte' instead (see next section). Saying 'Ich will einen Kaffee' to a waiter sounds rude.

The pattern is: subject + conjugated wollen (in V2) + ... + infinitive (at the very end). In subordinate clauses ('dass', 'weil', 'wenn') the modal moves to the final position, after the infinitive. 'Wollen' can also take a noun directly without an infinitive ('Ich will einen Apfel' = I want an apple), but with a verb the infinitive is required and never replaced by 'zu + infinitive' the way it would be after non-modal verbs.

• Ich will heute Abend ins Kino gehen. — I want today evening to-the cinema go-INF.
  I want to go to the cinema tonight.
• Willst du etwas trinken? — Want you-inf something drink-INF?
  Do you want something to drink?
• Er will Arzt werden. — He wants doctor become-INF.
  He wants to become a doctor.
• Wir wollen nächstes Jahr nach Italien fahren. — We want next year to Italy drive-INF.
  We want to go to Italy next year.
• Sie sagt, dass sie nicht kommen will. — She says that she not come-INF wants.
  She says she doesn't want to come.
• Was wollt ihr machen? — What want you-pl do-INF?
  What do you guys want to do?

werden + Infinitiv (Futur I, 'going to / will')

The Futur I is built with the present tense of 'werden' plus the infinitive of the main verb at the end of the clause. 'Werden' itself is irregular (du wirst, er wird):

In everyday speech Germans often skip Futur I and use the simple present with a time word: 'Ich rufe dich morgen an' (I'll call you tomorrow). The Futur I is preferred when you want to stress (a) a prediction or assumption about the future ('Es wird bald regnen'), (b) a promise or strong intention ('Ich werde es nie vergessen'), or (c) an assumption about the present ('Er wird wohl schon zu Hause sein' = He's probably already home). Compare with English 'going to': German has no separate construction; both 'will' and 'going to' map onto either present tense + time word or Futur I, depending on emphasis. Don't confuse 'werden + infinitive' (future) with 'werden + Partizip II' (passive) and with full-verb 'werden' meaning 'to become' ('Es wird kalt' = It's getting cold).

• Ich werde dir helfen. — I will you-D help-INF.
  I will help you.
• Wirst du das wirklich tun? — Will you-inf that really do-INF?
  Are you really going to do that?
• Es wird morgen regnen. — It will tomorrow rain-INF.
  It's going to rain tomorrow.
• Wir werden uns nie wiedersehen. — We will us-A never again-see-INF.
  We'll never see each other again.
• Er wird wohl im Stau stehen. — He will probably in-the traffic-jam stand-INF.
  He's probably stuck in traffic (assumption about present).
• Nächstes Jahr werde ich in Wien studieren. — Next year will I in Vienna study-INF.
  Next year I'll be studying in Vienna.

haben / sein + Partizip II (Perfekt)

The Perfekt is the everyday past tense in spoken German. It is built from two pieces: a conjugated auxiliary in V2 (either 'haben' or 'sein' in the present tense) and the Partizip II of the main verb at the very end of the clause. Choosing the right auxiliary is critical.

Use sein when the verb expresses: - motion from A to B: gehen, fahren, kommen, fliegen, laufen, reisen, steigen, fallen - change of state: werden, sterben, aufwachen, einschlafen, wachsen - the three 'special' verbs: sein, bleiben, passieren / geschehen

Use haben for everything else, including all transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object) and most verbs that describe an activity without a change of location.

Partizip II formation: weak verbs add ge- + stem + -t (machen → gemacht). Strong verbs add ge- + (often changed) stem + -en (sehen → gesehen, sprechen → gesprochen). Verbs with inseparable prefixes (be-, ver-, er-, ent-, zer-, ge-) take NO ge-: verstehen → verstanden, bezahlen → bezahlt. Separable-prefix verbs insert -ge- between prefix and stem: aufstehen → aufgestanden, anrufen → angerufen.

• Ich habe gestern einen Film gesehen. — I have yesterday a film seen.
  I watched a film yesterday.
• Wir sind nach Hause gegangen. — We are to home gone.
  We went home.
• Hast du schon gefrühstückt? — Have you-inf already breakfasted?
  Have you had breakfast yet?
• Er ist sehr früh aufgestanden. — He is very early up-stood.
  He got up very early.
• Was hat er gesagt? — What has he said?
  What did he say?
• Sie sind drei Tage in Berlin geblieben. — They are three days in Berlin stayed.
  They stayed in Berlin for three days.

ich möchte / würde gerne + Infinitiv (would like)

German has two polite ways to say 'I would like'. The first is 'möchte', which is historically the Konjunktiv II of 'mögen' (to like) but functions as its own modal verb in modern usage:

Like all modals, 'möchte' is conjugated in V2 and the main verb stays as a bare infinitive at the end. 'Möchte' can also take a noun directly without any verb ('Ich möchte einen Kaffee' = I would like a coffee).

The second option is 'würde gerne' + Infinitiv. 'Würde' is the Konjunktiv II of werden, and 'gerne' (gladly) signals enthusiasm. The structure: subject + würde (V2) + ... + gerne + infinitive (end). 'Würde gerne' is slightly warmer and is preferred for actions you would enjoy doing, while 'möchte' is the standard form for ordering, requesting, polite wishes.

Both forms are far more polite than 'wollen'. In a shop or restaurant, always say 'Ich möchte' or 'Ich hätte gerne', never 'Ich will'.

• Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte. — I would-like a-A coffee, please.
  I'd like a coffee, please.
• Möchtest du etwas essen? — Would-like you-inf something eat-INF?
  Would you like something to eat?
• Wir möchten ein Zimmer für zwei Nächte reservieren. — We would-like a room for two nights reserve-INF.
  We'd like to book a room for two nights.
• Ich würde gerne mit dir reden. — I would gladly with you-D talk-INF.
  I'd love to talk with you.
• Er würde gerne nach Japan reisen. — He would gladly to Japan travel-INF.
  He'd love to travel to Japan.
• Was möchten Sie trinken? — What would-like you-formal drink-INF?
  What would you like to drink?

gerade + verb (progressive workaround)

German has no dedicated continuous tense the way English does. 'Ich lese' covers both 'I read' and 'I am reading'. When the speaker wants to stress that the action is happening right now, at this very moment, the adverb 'gerade' (currently, just now) is added before or after the verb:

A more emphatic regional / colloquial form (often called the rheinische Verlaufsform, common in western Germany and standard in spoken Dutch) is 'am + infinitive used as noun':

The 'am + Infinitiv' form is widespread in speech but still felt as colloquial in writing. 'Dabei, zu + Infinitiv' is fully standard and slightly more formal. Note: the infinitive used as a noun is capitalised (am Lesen, beim Essen). 'Gerade' is by far the most common and the safest choice for learners.

• Was machst du gerade? — What do you-inf right-now?
  What are you doing right now?
• Ich lese gerade ein interessantes Buch. — I read right-now an interesting book.
  I'm reading an interesting book.
• Sie telefoniert gerade mit ihrer Mutter. — She phones right-now with her-D mother.
  She's on the phone with her mother.
• Ich bin gerade am Kochen. — I am right-now at-the cook-INF.
  I'm cooking right now (colloquial).
• Wir sind dabei, das Haus zu renovieren. — We are in-it the house to renovate-INF.
  We're in the process of renovating the house.
• Gerade jetzt regnet es stark. — Right now rains it strongly.
  Right now it's raining hard.

können + Infinitiv (can / be able to)

'Können' is the modal for ability, permission (informal) and possibility. Like all six modals it shows a vowel change in the singular (ö → a) and the er/sie/es form has no -t ending:

Structure: subject + können (V2) + ... + infinitive (end). 'Können' also works as a full verb (without another infinitive) meaning 'to know how to do, to master' a language or a skill: 'Ich kann Deutsch' = I speak / know German. For polite requests ('Could you...?'), German uses the Konjunktiv II 'könnte' (ich könnte, du könntest, er könnte, wir könnten, ihr könntet, sie könnten). 'Könnten Sie mir helfen?' is a very common polite formula.

Do not confuse 'können' (ability/possibility) with 'dürfen' (permission, 'be allowed to'). 'Kann ich rauchen?' literally asks 'Am I able to smoke?' but colloquially is fine for 'May I smoke?'. The strictly correct version is 'Darf ich rauchen?'.

• Ich kann sehr gut schwimmen. — I can very well swim-INF.
  I can swim very well.
• Kannst du mir bitte helfen? — Can you-inf me-D please help-INF?
  Can you help me, please?
• Er kann drei Sprachen sprechen. — He can three languages speak-INF.
  He can speak three languages.
• Wir können heute Abend leider nicht kommen. — We can today evening unfortunately not come-INF.
  Unfortunately we can't come tonight.
• Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen? — Could you-formal that please repeat-INF?
  Could you please repeat that?
• Sie kann Spanisch und Italienisch. — She can Spanish and Italian.
  She knows Spanish and Italian.

Separable-prefix verbs in detail

Separable-prefix verbs are everywhere in German. The prefix carries the stress and the most concrete meaning, and it physically detaches in main clauses. Common prefixes are: ab-, an-, auf-, aus-, bei-, ein-, fest-, fort-, her-, hin-, los-, mit-, nach-, vor-, weg-, weiter-, wieder-, zu-, zurück-, zusammen-.

Where does the prefix go? - Main clause, simple tense: prefix at the very end. 'Ich stehe um sieben auf.' - After a modal: verb stays as one word at the end (infinitive). 'Ich muss um sieben aufstehen.' - Perfekt: -ge- slots between prefix and stem. 'Ich bin um sieben aufgestanden.' - Subordinate clause (weil, dass, wenn): the whole word stays joined, at the very end. 'Er sagt, dass er um sieben aufsteht.' - Imperative (du): prefix flies to the end. 'Steh auf!' = Get up!

Verbs with motion-related separable prefixes (aufstehen, ankommen, abfahren, ausgehen) take sein in the Perfekt; verbs of activity (anrufen, aufmachen, einkaufen) take haben. The choice follows the regular auxiliary rules (see haben/sein section).

• Ich stehe jeden Morgen um halb sieben auf. — I stand every morning at half seven up.
  I get up at six-thirty every morning.
• Wann kommt der Zug aus Berlin an? — When comes the train from Berlin at?
  When does the train from Berlin arrive?
• Mach bitte das Fenster zu, es ist kalt! — Make please the window to, it is cold!
  Please close the window, it's cold!
• Wir sind gestern Abend mit Freunden ausgegangen. — We are yesterday evening with friends out-gone.
  We went out with friends last night.
• Sie hat mich gestern dreimal angerufen. — She has me yesterday three-times at-called.
  She called me three times yesterday.
• Ich muss jetzt einkaufen gehen. — I must now shop-INF go-INF.
  I have to go shopping now.

Modal verbs

The six modals are können (can/be able), müssen (must/have to), sollen (be supposed to), wollen (want), dürfen (be allowed to), and mögen (like) / its subjunctive möchte (would like). They are irregular in the present: most show a vowel change in the singular (ich kann, du kannst, er kann; ich muss, du musst, er muss). The modal is conjugated in V2 and the main verb stays as a bare infinitive at the end of the clause, forming the verbal bracket. In subordinate clauses the modal moves to the very end, after the infinitive.

• Ich kann gut Deutsch sprechen. — I can well German speak.
  I can speak German well.
• Du musst jetzt nach Hause gehen. — You must now to home go.
  You have to go home now.
• Er sagt, dass er nicht kommen kann. — He says that he not come can.
  He says he can't come.

Separable-prefix verbs

Many German verbs are formed with a stressed prefix (auf-, an-, ab-, aus-, ein-, mit-, vor-, zu-, weg-, zurück-...) that detaches in main clauses. The conjugated stem stays in V2 and the prefix flies to the end of the clause. In the infinitive, in subordinate clauses, and after a modal, the verb is written as one word. The Partizip II is formed by inserting -ge- between the prefix and the stem: aufstehen → aufgestanden, anrufen → angerufen. Unstressed prefixes (be-, ent-, er-, ge-, ver-, zer-) are inseparable and never split.

• Ich stehe jeden Morgen um sieben auf. — I stand every morning at seven up.
  I get up at seven every morning.
• Ruf mich bitte heute Abend an! — Call me please today evening up!
  Please call me tonight!
• Ich habe ihn gestern angerufen. — I have him yesterday up-called.
  I called him yesterday.

Negation: nicht and kein

German has two negators. 'Kein' negates a noun that would otherwise take an indefinite article or no article at all; it declines exactly like 'ein' (kein, keine, keinen, keinem...). 'Nicht' negates everything else: verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, or whole sentences. Position rules for 'nicht': it goes before the element it negates (adjectives, places, manner adverbs) and at the very end of a clause when negating the whole verb or sentence. In a bracket structure it sits just before the second verbal piece at the end.

• Ich habe kein Auto. — I have no car.
  I don't have a car.
• Ich gehe heute nicht ins Büro. — I go today not to-the office.
  I'm not going to the office today.
• Sie ist nicht müde. — She is not tired.
  She isn't tired.

Questions

Yes/no questions are V1: the conjugated verb moves to first position, the subject follows immediately. Wh-questions begin with a question word (wer 'who', was 'what', wo 'where', wohin 'where to', woher 'where from', wann 'when', warum 'why', wie 'how', welcher 'which', wie viel(e) 'how much/many') and then keep the V2 pattern, so the verb stays in second position. 'Wer' declines for case: wer (N), wen (A), wem (D), wessen (G). To ask politely for things one usually adds 'bitte'.

• Kommst du heute Abend? — Come you today evening?
  Are you coming tonight?
• Wo wohnst du? — Where live you?
  Where do you live?
• Wem gehört dieses Buch? — Whom-D belongs this book?
  Whose book is this?

Plural formation

German has no single default plural. The most common patterns are: -e (often with umlaut on masculine: der Tisch → die Tische, der Stuhl → die Stühle); -er (with umlaut where possible, mostly neuters: das Kind → die Kinder, das Buch → die Bücher); -(e)n (most feminines: die Frau → die Frauen, die Blume → die Blumen); -s (loanwords and short words: das Auto → die Autos, das Hotel → die Hotels); no ending but umlaut (some masculines/neuters in -er, -el, -en: der Bruder → die Brüder, der Apfel → die Äpfel). All plurals take the article 'die' in the nominative.

• der Tisch → die Tische — table → tables (-e + umlaut where possible)
  the table → the tables
• das Kind → die Kinder — child → children (-er)
  the child → the children
• die Frau → die Frauen; das Auto → die Autos — woman → women (-en); car → cars (-s)
  Two further common patterns.

Adjective agreement

An adjective before a noun must take an ending that signals gender, number and case; only predicate adjectives (after sein, werden, bleiben) stay uninflected: 'Das Haus ist alt'. Two main paradigms exist. Weak declension follows a definite article (der, die, das, dieser...), which already carries the case information, so the adjective takes only -e or -en. Strong declension is used when no article is present and the adjective itself must signal the case; the endings then look like the definite article (kalter Kaffee, gutes Bier, frische Milch). After the indefinite article (mixed declension), the pattern is a blend of the two.

• der gute Wein, den guten Wein, dem guten Wein — the good wine (N, A, D) – weak
  After the definite article: -e / -en.
• guter Wein, guten Wein, gutem Wein — good wine (N, A, D) – strong
  No article: adjective carries the case marker.
• ein guter Wein, einen guten Wein, einem guten Wein — a good wine (N, A, D) – mixed
  After ein/kein/mein: blend of weak and strong.