B1 · Nouns: gender, plural, compounds
Weak masculine nouns
the nouns that decline themselves
A closed group of masculines that takes -n in every case except one — and they are words you use daily.
German nouns normally do not change; the article carries the case. A small group of masculines is the exception: they take -n or -en in every case except the nominative singular. Der Student, but den Studenten, dem Studenten, des Studenten.
The group is closed, so it can be learned. It contains masculines for people ending in -e — der Kollege, der Junge, der Kunde, der Neffe, der Löwe — plus foreign masculines stressed on the last syllable — der Student, der Polizist, der Journalist, der Präsident — plus a handful of old survivors: der Herr, der Nachbar, der Mensch, der Bauer, der Held.
It matters because these are frequent words. Ich frage den Kollegen and ich helfe dem Nachbarn come up daily, and leaving the ending off is one of the most audible small errors in intermediate German.
Die Form
| nominative | der Student, der Kollege, der Herr |
| accusative | den Studenten, den Kollegen, den Herrn |
| dative | dem Studenten, dem Kollegen, dem Herrn |
| genitive | des Studenten, des Kollegen, des Herrn |
| plural | die Studenten, die Kollegen, die Herren |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
A weak masculine takes -n or -en in every case except the nominative singular.
Ich frage den Kollegen.I am asking the colleague.
Masculines for people ending in -e belong to the group.
Wir haben mit dem Kunden gesprochen.We spoke to the customer.
So do foreign masculines stressed on the last syllable: -ent, -ist, -ant, -oge.
Der Polizist hat den Studenten befragt.The police officer questioned the student.
Herr takes -n in the singular and -en in the plural.
Guten Tag, Herr Weber. Meine Herren!Good day, Mr Weber. Gentlemen!
Genauer hingesehen
Why a language keeps a group like this
These nouns are the remains of a declension that once covered far more of the vocabulary and has been shrinking for a thousand years. What kept these particular words in it is frequency: Herr, Mensch, Nachbar and Junge are said often enough to resist being tidied.
The foreign words are the interesting half. Student and Polizist did not inherit the pattern — they joined it, because a masculine stressed on the last syllable sounded like one. That makes the group productive rather than merely residual, which is why a new word like der Aktivist declines the same way.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the noun is Name, Gedanke, Wille, Glaube or Buchstabe
it is weak but adds -ns in the genitive: des Namens.
Ich kenne die Bedeutung des Namens nicht.I do not know the meaning of the name.
These are mixed nouns, half weak and half strong, and there are about eight of them.
-
the noun is das Herz
it is weak in the dative and genitive although it is neuter: dem Herzen, des Herzens.
Das liegt mir am Herzen.That matters a great deal to me.
It is the only neuter in the group, and it is there for historical reasons rather than by any rule.
Woran man es erkennt
- -e
- -ent
- -ist
- -ant
- -oge
- Herr
- Nachbar
- Mensch
Beispielsätze
Ich habe dem Nachbarn Bescheid gesagt.I let the neighbour know.
Das ist die Meinung des Experten.That is the expert view.
Sie hat einen Kollegen mitgebracht.She brought a colleague along.
Der Junge hilft dem alten Herrn.The boy is helping the old gentleman.
Kein Mensch hat das gewusst.Not a soul knew that.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Fragen Sie bitte den Herrn dort.Please ask the gentleman over there.
Wir warten auf den Kandidaten.We are waiting for the candidate.
Das Auto des Nachbarn steht im Weg.The neighbour's car is in the way.
Er arbeitet mit einem Architekten zusammen.He works together with an architect.
Die Rede des Präsidenten war kurz.The president's speech was short.
Ich habe den Jungen nicht gesehen.I did not see the boy.
Sie hat dem Praktikanten alles erklärt.She explained everything to the intern.
Vom Standpunkt des Kunden aus ist das teuer.From the customer's point of view that is expensive.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
The plural is the same ending
A weak masculine has the same <z>-n</z> in the plural as in the singular cases, which means only one form has to be remembered at all: <z>Kollege</z> in the nominative singular, <z>Kollegen</z> everywhere else. Seen that way the group costs less than the table suggests.
ein Kollege, zwei Kollegen, mit den Kollegenone colleague, two colleagues, with the colleagues
-
Herr is the one you will say most
Addressing somebody by name puts <z>Herr</z> into the accusative or dative constantly: <z>Ich habe Herrn Weber angerufen.</z> The <z>-n</z> is required and is left off more often than any other in this group, because the name beside it looks like a name and not like a declined noun.
Ich habe Herrn Weber angerufen.I called Mr Weber.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
The article is right and the noun is not, which is why this survives so long: everything else about the sentence looks correct. Because German nouns normally do not change, the habit of leaving them alone is rewarded everywhere except here. The group is small enough to memorise, and the memorising is the only method — nothing about a noun says it belongs.
Nominative singular only. Everywhere else, -n.
Jetzt selbst
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