German grammar
German grammar rests on a few systems, and each of them fits on a table: four cases that show mainly on the article (der, den, dem, des), three sets of adjective endings, personal pronouns that change with the case, and verbs whose conjugated part stands second in a statement.
Each chart below lays out one of them for learners from A1 to B1, the levels on the way to the Goethe-Zertifikat A2 and B1, and every table is built from the same grammar rules and word forms the drills use. Start with the cheat sheet, then open the chart you are stuck on: print it or save its pictures, and most charts let you practise their forms in real sentences.
cheat sheets — the essentials on one page
- German grammar cheat sheet: the essentials on one page · level A1 — German grammar on one printable page: articles in all four cases, pronouns, adjective endings, prepositions by case, key verbs and the Perfekt. · practise Grammar cheat sheet
cases
- German cases chart: the four cases with der and ein · level A1 — The four German cases — nominative, accusative, dative, genitive — with der and ein on Mann, Frau, Kind, the questions they answer and the n-declension. · practise Cases
- German articles chart: der, die, das, ein and kein in every case · level A1 — German definite and indefinite articles in all four cases — der, den, dem, des; ein, einen, einem, eines — plus kein, contractions and gender clues. · practise Articles
nouns and adjectives
- German adjective endings chart: weak, mixed and strong · level A2 — German adjective endings in three tables: after der (weak), after ein, kein, mein (mixed) and with no article (strong), every case, with examples. · practise Adjective endings
- German plural nouns: the five plural endings · level A2 — How German nouns form the plural: -e (Tische), -er (Kinder), -(e)n (Frauen), -s (Autos) or no ending (Fenster), often with an umlaut on top. · practise Plural nouns
verbs
- German verb conjugation: the present tense · level A1 — German present tense endings -e, -st, -t, -en on regular verbs, the stem-changing fahren, sprechen and lesen, and the irregular sein, haben, werden. · practise Present tense
- German modal verbs chart: können, müssen, dürfen, wollen, sollen, mögen · level A1 — The six German modal verbs in the present and the Präteritum, what each one means, and where the second verb goes: Ich kann gut schwimmen.
- The German perfect tense (Perfekt): haben or sein + Partizip II · level A1 — How the German Perfekt is formed: haben or sein plus the past participle — gemacht, gefahren, gebracht, studiert, eingekauft — with the rules for each.
- The German simple past (Präteritum) · level A2 — The German Präteritum in tables: war, hatte, wurde; weak verbs in -te; strong verbs such as ging, kam, fuhr; and 16 key irregular verbs with their Perfekt. · practise Präteritum
pronouns, prepositions and word order
- German personal pronouns chart: ich, mich, mir · level A1 — German personal pronouns in the nominative, accusative and dative — ich, mich, mir; er, ihn, ihm — plus du, ihr and Sie, and the reflexive sich. · practise Personal pronouns
- German possessive pronouns: mein, dein, sein, ihr and their endings · level A1 — German possessives for every person — mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr — and their endings in all four cases, on mein Vater and meine Mutter.
- German prepositions and the cases they take · level A1 — German prepositions by case: durch, für, ohne, um (accusative), aus, bei, mit, nach, von, zu (dative), the nine two-way prepositions and wegen, trotz. · practise Prepositions
- German word order: where the verb goes · level A1 — German sentence structure in two tables: the verb in second place (Heute gehe ich ins Kino) and at the end after weil, dass and ob. With TeKaMoLo. · practise Word order
practise and prepare
questions
How many cases does German have?
Four: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. They show mainly on the article and the adjective: der gute Mann, den guten Mann, dem guten Mann, des guten Mannes.
What are der, die and das?
The definite article in its three genders — masculine, feminine and neuter. Every noun has a gender. For people it mostly follows the person (der Vater, die Lehrerin), for things it rarely follows from the meaning, so learn each noun with its article: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Auto. Die is also the article of every plural.
Which past tense do Germans use?
In speech mostly the Perfekt (ich habe gemacht, ich bin gefahren); in writing mostly the Präteritum (ich machte, ich fuhr). Sein, haben and the modal verbs are usually in the Präteritum in both: ich war, ich hatte, ich konnte.