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What are Articles? (Artikel)
In English, there are three articles: "a," "an," and "the." They tell you if we are talking about, for example, a specific tree ("the tree") or an unspecified tree ("a tree"). With "a" and "an," we have to use a different one depending on the beginning sound of the noun ("a tree" vs. "an apple").
In German, we are going to extend this a bit.
First, we include more things under the category "German Articles."
The different types of articles are:
- Definite and Indefinite Articles (Bestimmte und unbestimmte Artikel = a/an)
- the Zero Article (Nullartikel = No Article)
- Possessive Determiners (Possesivartikeln - my, your,..)
- the Negative Article (Negativartikel - "no" as article)
Second, German Articles give more information than just specified noun or unspecified noun. They also tell you the noun's
- Gender: der = masculine; die = feminine; das = neuter
- Number: Singular or Plural
- Case: Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive
German Articles - Der, die oder das? - Keine Ahnung?
Check out my lesson about the German Gender (Genus) if you want to know when you have to use the German articles "der", "die" and "das".
Go to lesson: der, die oder das? - The German Gender
Learn Everything about German Articles in the following sub-lessons:
Bestimmter & Unbestimmter Artikel
Definite articles (Bestimmte Artikel) are used when talking about specific nouns (like the English "the"), while indefinite articles (Unbestimmte Artikel) are used when talking about nouns in general (like the English "a" / "an"). Both need to be declined (changed) based on the noun's gender, number, and case.
Examples:
Definite Articles: „der Mann“, „die Frau“, „das Kind“
Indefinite Articles: „ein Mann“, „eine Frau“, „ein Kind“
German Articles: Bestimmter & Unbestimmter Artikel
Der Nullartikel
Most nouns come with an article, but there are exceptions where NO article in used. We call this the zero article (Nullartikel).
Example: „Dort stehen Autos.“ (No article before Autos)
German Articles: Nullartikel
Possessivartikel
Possessive articles tell you who or what the noun belongs to, like the English "my" or "his."
Example: „Das ist Anna. Ihre Katze spielt im Garten.“
German Articles: Possessivartikel
Negativartikel "Kein"
When we say negative article, we mean the word "kein" or its other forms (i.e. keine, keinen,...). It is used to negate nouns that have an indefinite article or no article.
Example: „Das ist kein Mann.“
German Articles: Negativartikel "kein"
Related Topics:
Entire lesson in German only: Artikel
More lessons about Articles include are:
- Bestimmter & Unbestimmter Artikel (Definite & Indefinite Articles)
- Nullartikel (Zero Article)
- Possessivartikel (Possessive Article/Determiner)
- Negativartikel "kein" (Negative Article "kein")
You can find an overview of all topics under German Grammar.
