Adjective Endings Without an Article
Adjective Endings Without an Article
When there's no article — no der/die/das or ein/eine — in front of a noun, the adjective itself has to carry the case, gender, and number information that the missing article would normally show.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Strong endings: the adjective borrows the article's ending
guter Wein, kalte Milch, warmes Brot, frische Äpfel
good wine, cold milk, warm bread, fresh apples
English adjectives never change form (good wine, good milk, good bread — always 'good'), so this is a genuinely new habit to build. When no der-word or ein-word precedes the noun, the adjective takes 'strong' endings nearly identical to the definite article's: guter Wein (like der Wein), kalte Milch (like die Milch), warmes Brot (like das Brot), frische Äpfel (like die Äpfel, plural). The adjective does double duty, showing the gender/case/number that der/die/das would otherwise show.
The genitive and dative exceptions
bei gutem Wetter (dative) / trotz starken Regens (genitive)
in good weather / despite heavy rain
Two spots break the 'copy the definite article' pattern. Masculine and neuter genitive singular adjectives take -en, not -es, because the noun itself already carries -s/-es (trotz starken Regens, not starkes Regens — Regens already signals genitive, so the adjective doesn't repeat it as strongly). Dative singular always takes -em for masculine/neuter and -er for feminine, matching dem/der: bei gutem Wetter, bei kalter Milch. These are worth memorizing as a small table rather than deriving on the fly.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| guter Kaffee | GOO-ter kah-FAY | good coffee |
| kalte Milch | KAHL-teh milkh | cold milk |
| warmes Wasser | VAR-mes VAH-ser | warm water |
| frisches Obst | FRISH-es ohpst | fresh fruit |
| bei gutem Wetter | by GOO-tem VET-er | in good weather |
| trotz starken Regens | trots SHTAR-ken RAY-gens | despite heavy rain |
| mit großer Freude | mit GROH-ser FROY-deh | with great joy |
| schöne Blumen | SHER-neh BLOO-men | beautiful flowers |