See the trigger.
Apply the rule.
Grammar here is a set of decisions you can make in the exam. The related words link back to your Test 1 vocabulary deck. A noun’s article cannot reliably be guessed from whether its meaning feels masculine, feminine or neutral. Articles, irregular verb forms, plurals and fixed verb–preposition pairs are word facts; learn those with the word, then apply the grammar rule.
Start here · the grammar words and article tables
Subject: who or what does the action. Finite verb: the verb that changes for ich, du, wir. Infinitive: the dictionary form, such as lernen. Participle: a form such as gelernt used in Perfekt or passive. Clause: one subject-and-verb unit.
Nominative: subject. Accusative: often the direct object. Dative: often a recipient. Genitive: often possession. A verb or preposition can require a particular case; learn that requirement with the word.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der / ein | die / eine | das / ein | die / keine |
| Accusative | den / einen | die / eine | das / ein | die / keine |
| Dative | dem / einem | der / einer | dem / einem | den / keinen |
| Genitive | des / eines | der / einer | des / eines | der / keiner |
Plural has no indefinite ein. Possessives (mein, dein…) and kein use the ein endings. Dative plural nouns usually add -n unless already ending in -n or -s. Some masculine nouns also add -n/-en in singular object cases (der Kunde → den/dem Kunden); store these forms with the noun.
Adjective endings: after a definite article, use -e for nominative singular and feminine/neuter accusative; otherwise -en. After ein/possessives, use -er for masculine nominative and -es for neuter nominative/accusative, -e for feminine nominative/accusative, otherwise -en. With no article, the adjective usually carries the article’s case ending: guter Kaffee, gute Milch, gutes Brot, mit gutem Kaffee; masculine/neuter genitive uses -en.
Strategy: understand the meaning → identify the trigger → apply the operation → read the entire result. A strategy narrows decisions; it cannot replace understanding the text.