A1 · Articles
ein, kein and the possessives
the ein-words and their three empty cells
One pattern shared by nine words — and three cells where it says nothing at all.
Ein, kein and the possessives mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr all take the same endings. They are called the ein-words for that reason, and learning one of them is learning all nine.
The pattern is the definite article's, with three cells emptied: the masculine nominative and the neuter nominative and accusative take no ending. Ein Mann, ein Kind — where the definite article says der and das. Everywhere else the ending is there: einen, einem, einer, eines.
Those three gaps have a consequence worth naming, because it explains a later topic completely. Ein cannot tell you whether the noun is masculine or neuter — so if an adjective follows, the adjective has to: ein guter Mann, ein gutes Buch. The adjective is filling in exactly what the article failed to say.
Die Form
| nominative — m, f, n, plural | ein / eine / ein / keine |
| accusative | einen / eine / ein — keine |
| dative | einem / einer / einem — keinen |
| genitive | eines / einer / eines — keiner |
| the three gaps, no ending at all | ein Mann, ein Kind |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
ein, kein and all the possessives take the same endings.
Das ist mein Bruder und das ist meine Schwester.That is my brother and that is my sister.
The masculine nominative and the whole neuter nominative and accusative take no ending.
Ein Freund hat mir ein Buch geliehen.A friend lent me a book.
ein has no plural; kein and the possessives do.
Ich habe keine Fragen mehr.I have no more questions.
euer loses its second -e- before an ending: euer Haus, but eure Wohnung.
Wie war eure Reise?How was your journey?
Genauer hingesehen
Why the gaps are where they are
The definite and indefinite articles descend from different words — der from a demonstrative, ein from the numeral "one" — and they were inflected differently before they were both pressed into service as articles. Ein simply never developed a form for those three cells.
German then solved the gap rather than filling it, by making the adjective carry the information instead. That is why the three adjective declensions exist and why their differences line up exactly with the gaps: they are not three systems but one system compensating for a defective article.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the ein-word stands without a noun after it
it takes the full endings of der: einer, eins, meiner, meins, keiner.
Hast du einen Stift? — Ja, ich habe einen.Have you got a pen? — Yes, I have one.
With nothing following, the gaps would leave the form unreadable, so the fuller set takes over.
-
the possessive is ihr
it means "her", "their" and — capitalised — the formal "your", and only the context tells them apart.
Ist das Ihr Mantel?Is that your coat?
German built all three on the same pronoun, and only the capital letter distinguishes the polite form in writing.
Woran man es erkennt
- ein
- eine
- einen
- einem
- einer
- kein
- mein
- dein
- sein
- ihr
- unser
Beispielsätze
Ich suche einen Parkplatz.I am looking for a parking space.
Sie wohnt bei einer Freundin.She is staying with a friend.
Mein Zug hat Verspätung.My train is delayed.
Das ist nicht ihre Handschrift.That is not her handwriting.
Wir haben unseren Termin verschoben.We have postponed our appointment.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Er hat einen Bruder und eine Schwester.He has a brother and a sister.
Mit einem Wörterbuch geht das schneller.It goes faster with a dictionary.
Das ist unsere neue Adresse.That is our new address.
Ich kenne deinen Kollegen nicht.I do not know your colleague.
Ihre Wohnung liegt im vierten Stock.Her flat is on the fourth floor.
Wir haben keinen Platz mehr.We have no room left.
Sein Vorschlag war besser als meiner.His suggestion was better than mine.
Habt ihr eure Fahrkarten dabei?Have you got your tickets with you?
Besonderheiten (2)
-
sein means his, not "to be" here
The possessive <z>sein</z> and the verb <z>sein</z> are spelled identically and are unrelated words. In front of a noun it is the possessive; as the verb it is either an infinitive or, in <z>sein zu tun</z>, part of a construction. Context settles it immediately in practice, and it catches learners out exactly once.
Sein Vater will Lehrer sein.His father wants to be a teacher.
-
The possessive agrees with the thing, not the owner
<z>Ihr Bruder</z> and <z>ihre Schwester</z> both mean "her" — the ending follows the noun that comes after, not the person who owns it. English does the opposite: "his sister" and "her brother" pick the word by the owner. Getting this backwards produces sentences that sound wrong in a way English speakers find hard to hear.
Ihr Bruder und ihre Schwester wohnen in Bonn.Her brother and her sister live in Bonn.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
The accusative -en is the ending a learner meets first and it starts appearing on neuter nouns too. Neuter is the one gender that never takes it: ein Buch in the nominative and ein Buch in the accusative, unchanged. Only the masculine moves from ein to einen — and that single change is most of what the accusative is.
Nine words, one pattern, three empty cells.
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