Learn German Grammar

German nouns are unique because they are always capitalized. Every noun has one of three genders (masculine, feminine, or neuter) and changes form depending on the case (nominative, accusative, dative, or genitive).

Verbs are the heart of German sentences. They express action, state, or process. German verbs conjugate according to person, tense, and mood, and their placement in the sentence can change depending on whether it’s a statement or a question.

Describes a noun, usually coming before it. Adjectives must decline (change their endings) to agree with the noun's case, gender, and number, unless they are used predicatively.

Modifies a verb, an adjective, or an entire sentence. They specify how, when, where, or why something happens. Crucially, adverbs never change form (they do not decline)

Pronouns replace nouns to avoid repetition. They adapt to gender, case, and number and common types include: Personal, reflexive, relative and possessive pronouns.

Prepositions show relationships between words and control which case follows them. Some always take the accusative, others the dative, and some can take both depending on movement.

Conjunctions connect ideas. There are coordinating conjunctions that link equal parts of a sentence, and subordinating conjunctions that introduce dependent clauses and send the verb to the end.

Interjections express emotions or reactions. They often stand alone and bring life to spoken German.

Articles introduce nouns and define their meaning. They also signal gender, number, and case. They are essential because they determine the form of adjectives and help identify each noun’s grammatical role.

Determiners behave like articles but aren’t classified as such. Determiners always appear before the noun and trigger adjective declension, influencing adjective endings just like articles do.

Numerals express quantity or order and can function in different ways: As adjectives, as nouns, or as adverbs. Because they don’t always behave like other word types, numerals are often treated as a separate category in German grammar.

Particles are small words that don’t change form or influence grammar but add tone, emotion, or focus to what’s being said. They include modal particles and focus particles, which are subtle yet powerful tools that bring nuance and personality to German speech.

In German, main clauses follow a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order, but the verb always comes second. In subordinate clauses, the verb moves to the end.

A clause needs at least a subject and a conjugated verb. Main clauses can stand alone, while subordinate clauses depend on a main clause and end with the verb. Every sentence must have at least one main clause.

German sentences can express different purposes: declarative for statements, interrogative for questions, imperative for commands, and exclamatory for emotions.

German sentences can be simple (one clause), compound (multiple main clauses), or complex (a main clause plus subordinate clauses).

Indirect speech reports what someone said without quoting them directly, often using the subjunctive. In everyday speech, the indicative can be used if the meaning is clear.

Verbs must agree with their subjects in person and number. This agreement is one of the most consistent features of German grammar.

Connecting words make sentences flow naturally. Common conjunctions and adverbs include und (and), aber (but), deshalb (therefore), dann (then), trotzdem (nevertheless).

German punctuation uses periods, commas, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation marks. Commas appear more often than in English, especially between clauses. Quotation marks are usually „...“ or »...«.

Extra or explanatory information is added between commas, dashes, or parentheses.

Used to emphasize a part of the sentence.

The active voice highlights who performs the action, while the passive voice focuses on the action itself or the recipient. The passive is often used in formal or scientific writing.

German verbs have non-finite forms: the infinitive (base form), Participle I (ongoing action), and Participle II (used in compound tenses).

The present tense describes actions happening now, repeated actions, or general truths. It is also often used for the near future when time is specified.

Used mainly in written German, storytelling, and literature to describe past events or sequences. In spoken German, this tense is often replaced by the present perfect.

The most common past tense in spoken German. It describes completed actions that still connect to the present. Formed with haben or sein + past participle (Partizip II). Verbs of movement or change of state usually take sein.

Used to describe actions that happened before another past event. Formed with hatte/war + past participle. 

Expresses actions that will happen in the future or assumptions about the present. Formed with werden + infinitive.

Describes an action that will have been completed by a specific point in the future. Built with werden + past participle + haben/sein.

Used mainly in reported or indirect speech to show that information comes from another source. In everyday German, it often overlaps with indicative forms, especially when the context is clear.

Used to express unreal or hypothetical situations in the past. Formed with hätte or wäre + past participle.

Used for commands, instructions, or requests. Exists for du, ihr, and Sie forms.

Common challenges for German learners include mixing up cases (der/dem/den), incorrect verb placement, and confusing genders (die Tisch instead of der Tisch). Many also forget to move verbs to the end of subordinate clauses (weil ich müde bin, not weil ich bin müde). 

In German grammar, words must agree in form: verbs match their subjects, adjectives match the noun’s case, gender, and number, and articles change with the case.

Many German words look or sound alike but have different meanings, such as "das" vs. "dass" or "seid" vs. "seit". Knowing these helps avoid confusion and improves accuracy.

German plurals follow different patterns with endings like -e, -en, -er, or -s, sometimes with a Umlaut change. Adjectives and articles must also match the plural form: die alten Häuser (the old houses).

German word order is flexible but logical: in main clauses, the conjugated verb always appears in second position; in questions, it always comes first; and in subordinate clauses, the verb moves to the end.

A distinctive feature of German grammar is the sentence frame. In main clauses, the conjugated verb (V2) stands near the beginning, while the non-finite verb part (the infinitive, prefix, or participle) appears at the end. All other elements, such as objects and adverbs, fill the space in between.

Negation in German uses "nicht" to negate verbs or adjectives, and "kein" to negate nouns. Nicht usually comes before what it’s negating, while kein replaces the article with “no” or “none.”

German questions come in different forms: yes/no questions put the verb first, W-questions start with a question word, and indirect questions use words like "ob" or "wann."

Instead of English-style tags, German uses short confirming phrases, such as "oder?", "nicht wahr?", or "ne?".

German verbs show moods like Indikativ (facts), Konjunktiv (hypothetical), Imperativ (commands), and the passive voice, where the subject receives the action.

This mood is used for indirect speech, wishes, and unreal situations. Konjunktiv I is used for reporting, and Konjunktiv II for hypotheticals or polite expressions.

A simple subject consists of one noun or pronoun, while a compound subject connects multiple nouns with und or oder. The verb must always agree with the full subject.

The direct object (Akkusativ) gets the action directly, while the indirect object (Dativ) shows who receives it. Object pronouns like “ihn” replace nouns for smoother sentences.

German has many strong (irregular) verbs that change vowels and have unique past forms. Learning them is important for past and perfect tenses.

German punctuation keeps things clear with frequent commas between clauses, capitalized nouns, „...“ or »...« for quotes, commas for decimals (5,5 Euro), and no space before marks like ! or ?.