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Lesson 27.1B1

Adjective Endings Without an Article

बिना आर्टिकल के विशेषण-अंत

When no article comes before a noun — no der/die/das or ein/eine — the adjective itself has to carry the case, gender, and number information the article would normally show. In Hindi, every adjective is always in this exact situation, since Hindi never has an article at all!

Grammar Comparison

व्याकरण तुलना

Strong endings: the adjective borrows the article's ending — an everyday situation for Hindi

German

guter Wein, kalte Milch, warmes Brot, frische Äpfel

Hindi

अच्छी शराब, ठंडा दूध, गर्म रोटी, ताज़े सेब

This is a genuinely new habit in English, but it's Hindi's everyday normal situation — Hindi never has an article, so every adjective is always in this 'no article' state and signals gender/number on its own (अच्छी शराब, ठंडा दूध, ताज़े सेब)! In German, when no der-word or ein-word comes before the noun, the adjective takes an almost-definite-article-like 'strong' ending: guter Wein (like der Wein), kalte Milch (like die Milch), warmes Brot (like das Brot), frische Äpfel (like die Äpfel, plural). What Hindi adjectives always do, German adjectives only do in this one specific situation.

Exceptions in the genitive and dative

German

bei gutem Wetter (dative) / trotz starken Regens (genitive)

Hindi

अच्छे मौसम में / भारी बारिश के बावजूद

Two spots break the 'copy the definite article' pattern. Masculine and neuter genitive singular adjectives take -en, not -es, because the noun itself already shows the genitive with -s/-es (trotz starken Regens, not starkes Regens — Regens already signals the genitive, so the adjective doesn't need to double down). The dative singular always takes -em for masculine/neuter and -er for feminine, matching dem/der: bei gutem Wetter, bei kalter Milch. These are best memorized as a small table.

Vocabulary

शब्दावली

GermanPronunciationHindiEnglish
guter KaffeeGOO-ter kah-FAYअच्छी कॉफ़ीacchī kŏfīgood coffee
kalte MilchKAHL-teh milkhठंडा दूधṭhanḍā dūdhcold milk
warmes WasserVAR-mes VAH-serगर्म पानीgarm pānīwarm water
frisches ObstFRISH-es ohpstताज़ा फलtāzā phalfresh fruit
bei gutem Wetterby GOO-tem VET-erअच्छे मौसम मेंacche mausam meñin good weather
trotz starken Regenstrots SHTAR-ken RAY-gensभारी बारिश के बावजूदbhārī bāriś ke bāvjūddespite heavy rain
mit großer Freudemit GROH-ser FROY-dehबड़ी खुशी सेbaṛī khuśī sewith great joy
schöne BlumenSHER-neh BLOO-menसुंदर फूलsundar phūlbeautiful flowers