Adjective endings, part 1 — with der/die/das

Adjective endings are the piece of German that looks impossibly complex the first time. Good news: it's actually the most predictable thing in the language once you see the trick. There are three patterns — this lesson teaches the first and gentlest.

Rule of thumb: if the article in front of the noun is already telling you the gender and case clearly, the adjective stays low-key with just -e or -en. That's the "weak declension."

The only adjectives that take endings

You only add endings when the adjective stands between the article and the noun: das rote Auto. If the adjective comes AFTER sein or another linking verb — the predicate position — it stays uninflected.

Good news: predicate position needs zero effort. Bad news: attributive position needs the table below.

The weak declension — after der/die/das (and friends)

When a definite article or another clearly-marking word (dieser, jeder, jener, mancher, welcher, alle) sits in front, the adjective only needs to show ONE of two endings: -e or -en. That's it.

The visible pattern

Look at the highlighted cells. The four "easy" spots — Nominativ masculine/feminine/neuter and Akkusativ feminine/neuter — take -e. Everything else takes -en. That's the entire weak table, distilled.

Memory hook: Dativ is always -en. Plural is always -en. Masculine Akkusativ is -en (because that's where der becomes den). Everything else is -e.

Worked examples

Words that trigger the weak pattern

Anything that clearly signals gender/case triggers weak:

• Definite articles: der, die, das, den, dem, des, den (pl)
• Demonstratives: dieser, diese, dieses, jener
• Quantifiers that behave like articles: jeder, jede, jedes; alle; manche; welche
• Solche when acting like an article.

If you see one of these in front of the adjective, you can relax and follow the weak pattern.

A spelling detail: dropping an internal e

Adjectives ending in -el, -er, or -en often drop an internal -e- when you add an ending — just to keep things pronounceable.

Not a rule to memorize — your ear will tell you when the form sounds awkward.

Common mistakes, named

1. Inflecting in predicate position. Das Auto ist rote. ❌ → Das Auto ist rot. ✓ After sein, the adjective stays bare.

2. Using -e where -en is needed. Ich sehe den große Hund. ❌ → Ich sehe den großen Hund. ✓ Masculine Akkusativ → -en.

3. Forgetting Dativ plural gets -n on the noun. Mit den neuen Bücher. ❌ → Mit den neuen Büchern. ✓

4. Multiple adjectives — they all share the same ending. Der große rot Hund. ❌ → Der große rote Hund. ✓ All attributive adjectives decline in parallel.

Mini check

Where this leads

Now the trickier half — what happens when there's no article at all, or only ein. The adjective has to step up and show the case ending itself. That's the "mixed" and "strong" patterns next lesson.

Next up: Adjektivdeklination part 2 — with ein and with no article.

Test yourself