Answers
Nov 22, 2017 - 09:37 AM
Hi Cynder888, Here the final R is dropped because it already appears on the article"Der", we say:
Ein Deutscher but Der Deutsche.
Hope this helps :)
Ein Deutscher but Der Deutsche.
Hope this helps :)
Feb 03, 2018 - 09:49 PM
Emille's comment is correct, but I thought I'd expand on the WHY behind this.
The noun Deutscher is, unlike most nationalities in the German language, a nominalized adjective. (That basically means they made an adjective into a noun.)
This being so, we must treat this noun exactly as we treat an adjective, except that we have to capitalize it.
So write it exactly how you would write the adjective "deutsch", but capitalize it. I'll give some examples.
With an indefinite article, the adjective must take an ending that reflects it's grammatical gender.
Ein deutschER Wagen (Nominative)
Einen deutschEN Wagen (Accusative)
Einem deutschEN Wagen (Dative)
With a definite article, (in the nominative case) The gender is already shown, therefore, it does not need to be in the adjective. So the adjective just gets an "e" on the end.
However, in all cases other than Nominative, it will get an "en".
Der deutschE Wagen (Nominative)
Den deutschEN Wagen (Accusative)
Dem deutschEN Wagen (Dative)
-
So now you end up with:
Ein Deutscher (Nominative)
Einen Deutschen (Accusative)
Einem Deutschen (Dative)
Der Deutsche (Nominative)
Den Deutschen (Accusative)
Dem Deutschen (Dative)
- Remember, this rule only applies to nouns that are made from adjectives, so it does not apply to Kanadier (Canadian), for example.
Ein Kanadier (Nominative)
Einen Kanadier (Accusative)
Einem Kanadier (Dative)
Der Kanadier (Nominative)
Den Kanadier (Accusative)
Dem Kanadier (Dative)
Depending on where you are in the course, perhaps you should only focus on the Nominative examples, the others will come later.
I hope this helps!
The noun Deutscher is, unlike most nationalities in the German language, a nominalized adjective. (That basically means they made an adjective into a noun.)
This being so, we must treat this noun exactly as we treat an adjective, except that we have to capitalize it.
So write it exactly how you would write the adjective "deutsch", but capitalize it. I'll give some examples.
With an indefinite article, the adjective must take an ending that reflects it's grammatical gender.
Ein deutschER Wagen (Nominative)
Einen deutschEN Wagen (Accusative)
Einem deutschEN Wagen (Dative)
With a definite article, (in the nominative case) The gender is already shown, therefore, it does not need to be in the adjective. So the adjective just gets an "e" on the end.
However, in all cases other than Nominative, it will get an "en".
Der deutschE Wagen (Nominative)
Den deutschEN Wagen (Accusative)
Dem deutschEN Wagen (Dative)
-
So now you end up with:
Ein Deutscher (Nominative)
Einen Deutschen (Accusative)
Einem Deutschen (Dative)
Der Deutsche (Nominative)
Den Deutschen (Accusative)
Dem Deutschen (Dative)
- Remember, this rule only applies to nouns that are made from adjectives, so it does not apply to Kanadier (Canadian), for example.
Ein Kanadier (Nominative)
Einen Kanadier (Accusative)
Einem Kanadier (Dative)
Der Kanadier (Nominative)
Den Kanadier (Accusative)
Dem Kanadier (Dative)
Depending on where you are in the course, perhaps you should only focus on the Nominative examples, the others will come later.
I hope this helps!
