Grammar
A1German noun plurals
German plurals follow patterns more than one rule. Learn the common endings, then drill them until they stick.
- Frequent plural endings and umlaut changes
- Practice with real nouns from your path
- Listening drills for plural forms
Forming the plural
As you know, theer are different ways to form the plural in German. The most common is to add the endings -(e)n and -e. In some nouns, the vowels a, o and u then change into ä, ö and ü (especially in nouns with the plural ending -e ).
der Pilz - die Pilze, der Baum - die Bäume
the mushroom - the mushrooms, the tree - the trees
Abbreviations, foreign words, and nouns ending in a, i, o or u receive the ending -s in the plural
der App - die Apps, das Auto - die Autos
the app - the apps, the car - the cars
More ways of forming the plural
Many neuter and some masculine nouns from the plural with the ending -er. In these nouns, a, o and u then often becomes ä, ö and ü
der Wald - die Wälder, das Bild - die Bilder
the forest - the forests, the image - the images
Neuter and masculine nouns ending in -lein, -chen, -er, -en and -el don not have a plural ending but the vowels may change
das Mädchen - die Mädchen
the girl - the girls
der Garten - die Gärten
the garden - the gardens
Es gibt... + accusative
The German expression es gibt is a set expression which always remains in the third person singular
Es gibt einen schönen Wanderweg hier - Es gibt schöne Wanderwege hier
There is a beautiful hiking trail here - There are beautiful hiking trails here
As you may have already noticed, es gibt always requires accusative
Die Wanderer sagen, es gibt einen Bären im Wald!
The hikers say that there is a bear in the forest!
The accusative
As you already know, the use of the accusative depends on the verb or the preposition. Some verbs that require the accusative are haben or the (to have), sehen (to see), machen (to make) and essen (to eat)
Sie machen eine Pause und essen einen Apfel.
They are having a break and eating an apple
Siehst du die Wildschweine und den Hirsch da vorne?
Do you see the wild boars and the stag up ahead?
The following prepositions always require accusative: für, durch, gegen, ohne and um
Wir sind durch einen wunderschönen Wald gewendert
We wandered through a beautiful forest
Plural
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What’s next
After this lesson, the path continues with Preposition (A1)
Place people and things with common prepositions. · View full path · Review weak spots
Listening · Plural
Play the German answer, then type or speak what you heard.
Vocab · Plural
Nouns with useful plural patterns
| Article | German | English | Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| die | App | app | die Apps | Die Appn sind neu. The apps are new. |
| der | Wald | forest | die Wälder | Die Walde sind neu. The forests are new. |
| der | Baum | tree | die Bäume | Die Baume sind neu. The trees are new. |
| der | Pilz | mushroom | die Pilze | Die Pilze sind neu. The mushrooms are new. |
| der | Bär | bear | die Bären | Die Bäre sind neu. The bears are new. |
| das | Reh | deer | die Rehe | Die Rehe sind neu. The deers are new. |
| die | Blume | flower | die Blumen | Die Blumen sind neu. The flowers are new. |
| das | Buch | book | die Bücher | Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. The book is lying on the table. |
| der | Apfel | apple | die Äpfel | Die Apfele sind neu. The apples are new. |
| die | Hand | hand | die Hände | Die Handn sind neu. The hands are new. |
| das | Auto | car | die Autos | Das Auto gehört meinem Vater. The car belongs to my father. |
| der | Stuhl | chair | die Stühle | Die Stuhle sind neu. The chairs are new. |
| die | Tür | door | die Türen | Die Türn sind neu. The doors are new. |
| das | Fenster | window | die Fenster | Die Fenstere sind neu. The windows are new. |
| der | Tisch | table | die Tische | Die Tische sind neu. The tables are new. |
| die | Straße | street | die Straßen | Die Straßen sind neu. The streets are new. |
| das | Ei | egg | die Eier | Die Eier sind frisch. The eggs are fresh. |
Tip: learn article + noun together ( der / die / das ). Bookmark words to review later in Saved words .