German Grammar Fundamentals Syllabus

Grammar Fundamentals syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Grammar Fundamentals in German, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Nouns and Articles

   3 topics

   • Gender of Nouns
   • Definite and Indefinite Articles
   • Plural Forms
2. 2

   Pronouns

   3 topics

   • Personal Pronouns
   • Possessive Pronouns
   • Demonstrative Pronouns
3. 3

   Verbs and Tenses

   3 topics

   • Present Tense
   • Past Tense
   • Future Tense
4. 4

   Sentence Structure

   3 topics

   • Basic Sentence Order
   • Questions and Negations
   • Subordinate Clauses

Grammar Fundamentals flashcards for German

23 of 49 cards from the Grammar Fundamentals deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the three grammatical genders of German nouns, and how are they marked?

   Masculine (der), feminine (die), and neuter (das). Gender is shown by the definite article and is largely grammatical, not natural.

2. Which noun ending almost always signals feminine gender in German?

   The ending -ung (e.g., die Zeitung), as well as -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tion, and -ei.

3. What gender do most German nouns ending in -chen or -lein take, and why?

   Neuter (das). These are diminutive suffixes, so even das Mädchen (girl) is grammatically neuter.

4. State the German definite articles in the nominative for all three genders and the plural.

   Masculine der, feminine die, neuter das, plural die.

5. State the German indefinite articles (a/an) for masculine, feminine, and neuter in the nominative.

   Masculine ein, feminine eine, neuter ein. There is no plural indefinite article.

6. How do the definite articles decline in the accusative case for the three genders and plural?

   Masculine den, feminine die, neuter das, plural die. Only the masculine changes (der to den).

7. How do the definite articles decline in the dative case (masc./fem./neut./plural)?

   Masculine dem, feminine der, neuter dem, plural den (and the noun usually adds -n).

8. How do the definite articles decline in the genitive case (masc./fem./neut./plural)?

   Masculine des, feminine der, neuter des, plural der. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -s/-es.

9. Give the accusative forms of the indefinite article ein for all three genders.

   Masculine einen, feminine eine, neuter ein. Only the masculine changes.

10. Give the dative forms of the indefinite article ein for all three genders.

    Masculine einem, feminine einer, neuter einem.

11. What is the negative article kein, and how does it decline?

    Kein means 'no/not a' and declines exactly like ein (keinen, keine, kein), but it also has plural forms (keine, keinen).

12. List the five common German plural-formation patterns.

    1) no change or umlaut only, 2) add -e (often + umlaut), 3) add -er (often + umlaut), 4) add -(e)n, 5) add -s (mostly loanwords).

13. Which plural ending is typical for feminine nouns, and give an example.

    The ending -(e)n; e.g., die Frau to die Frauen, die Blume to die Blumen.

14. Which plural ending is common for foreign/loanwords in German?

    The ending -s; e.g., das Auto to die Autos, das Hotel to die Hotels.

15. In the dative plural, what suffix must (nearly) every German noun take?

    An -n, unless the plural already ends in -n or -s; e.g., mit den Kindern, mit den Autos.

16. List the German nominative personal pronouns (all persons, singular and plural).

    ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie.

17. Give the accusative forms of the German personal pronouns.

    mich, dich, ihn/sie/es, uns, euch, sie/Sie.

18. Give the dative forms of the German personal pronouns.

    mir, dir, ihm/ihr/ihm, uns, euch, ihnen/Ihnen.

19. What is the difference between du, ihr, and Sie in German?

    du = informal singular, ihr = informal plural, Sie = formal (singular or plural), always capitalized.

20. What is the possessive pronoun (determiner) for each person in German?

    mein, dein, sein (his/its), ihr (her/their), unser, euer, Ihr (formal your).

21. How do possessive pronouns like mein agree with the noun they modify?

    They take the same endings as ein/kein, agreeing in gender, number, and case with the following noun (e.g., mein Vater, meine Mutter, meinen Bruder).

22. Distinguish sein and ihr as possessive pronouns.

    sein = his/its (masc./neut. owner); ihr = her (fem. owner) or their (plural owner).

23. What are the main German demonstrative pronouns meaning 'this/that'?

    dieser (this) and jener (that), plus der/die/das used demonstratively; they decline like the definite article.

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