Lesson 1: Introduction to German Cases - The Nominative Case
Learn the basics of German's case system, starting with the nominative case, essential vocabulary, and common expressions for everyday conversations.
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Imagine arriving at a German language class. You want to introduce yourself, ask someone's name, and point out a book or a friend. You can already do that with a small set of words and one case: the nominative.
By the end, you should be able to introduce people, choose der/die/das or ein/eine, and build a short statement with sein (to be). You will also learn to spot the subject even when it is not the first word.
1. What a case tells you
A case is a grammatical form associated with a noun phrase or pronoun. It helps show how that expression fits into the sentence. German marks case on articles, pronouns and adjectives, and sometimes on nouns. English has a small visible comparison: he is here, but I see him.
Here is a map of the four cases, with one useful starting use for each:
| German name | English name | Starting use | Example meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | nominative | subject | The child is here. |
| Akkusativ | accusative | direct object with many verbs | I see the child. |
| Dativ | dative | recipient with verbs such as geben (give) | I give the child a book. |
| Genitiv | genitive | possession or another relationship | the child's book |
These are starting points, not complete definitions. Verbs and prepositions can require particular cases. The next lessons explain those patterns.
The subject is the grammatical person or thing the verb agrees with. It often performs an action, but it can also simply have a property: Der Hund ist müde. — The dog is tired. Nothing needs to happen for der Hund to be the subject.
Ask Wer oder was …? — Who or what …? — together with the verb: Wer kommt? (Who is coming?). This helps you find the subject. Case endings are useful clues, but several cases share the same forms; a single article does not always reveal the role by itself.
2. Learn nouns with gender and plural
German has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Plural is a number, not a fourth gender. In the nominative, the definite articles (English the) are:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the | der Mann | die Frau | das Kind | die Kinder |
| a/an | ein Mann | eine Frau | ein Kind | — |
There is no plural form of ein/eine meaning a/an: ein Kind becomes Kinder, or die Kinder if you mean particular children. Words such as einige (some) and viele (many) can still describe indefinite plural groups.
Learn a noun as a small package: der Hund — die Hunde. The first article records its dictionary gender; the plural tells you how to talk about more than one. Some endings help predict gender, but guessing from the English meaning is unreliable.
| Person or animal | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| der Mann | die Männer | man; husband in context |
| die Frau | die Frauen | woman; wife in context |
| das Kind | die Kinder | child |
| der Junge | die Jungen | boy |
| das Mädchen | die Mädchen | girl |
| der Vater | die Väter | father |
| die Mutter | die Mütter | mother |
| der Freund | die Freunde | male friend; boyfriend in context |
| die Freundin | die Freundinnen | female friend; girlfriend in context |
| der Hund | die Hunde | dog |
| die Katze | die Katzen | cat |
| der Lehrer / die Lehrerin | die Lehrer / die Lehrerinnen | teacher |
Das Mädchen is neuter because it contains the diminutive suffix -chen. Nouns formed with this suffix are neuter; this is a grammatical pattern, not a statement about the person. Merely ending in the letters chen is not enough: der Kuchen (cake) does not contain that diminutive suffix.
| Thing | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| das Auto | die Autos | car |
| der Tisch | die Tische | table |
| die Tür | die Türen | door |
| das Buch | die Bücher | book |
| der Apfel | die Äpfel | apple |
| das Haus | die Häuser | house |
Writing habit: capitalize nouns wherever they appear: Das Buch ist hier. The sentence begins with capital Das, and the noun Buch also has a capital. The ordinary verb ist and adjective in Das Buch ist schön remain lowercase here.
Sound practice: German w sounds like English v in was and wo; ei in nein sounds roughly like English eye. The ü in Tür is a rounded vowel: try holding an ee-like tongue position while rounding your lips. It is not the English oo. The ch in ich is a soft friction sound /ç/, different from the back-of-the-mouth ch in Buch /x/. These are starting cues; use recorded pronunciation to hear the difference.
3. Build sentences with sein
Sein means to be. Its present-tense forms need to be learned individually:
| Subject pronoun | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin | I am |
| du | bist | you are — one person, informal |
| er / sie / es | ist | he / she / it is |
| wir | sind | we are |
| ihr | seid | you are — several people, informal |
| sie | sind | they are |
| Sie | sind | you are — formal, one or several people |
Sie for formal address keeps its capital letter in the middle of a sentence. Du and ihr are the informal singular and plural. With an adult in a formal setting, Sie is a useful starting choice; follow the agreed form of address. Du is also common among peers and in many workplaces and classes, including between people who have just met. It is not automatically rude or grammatically wrong to use it with a stranger.
Choose the verb to match the subject:
- Der Hund ist groß. — The dog is big.
- Die Katze ist klein. — The cat is small.
- Die Kinder sind hier. — The children are here.
- Wir sind Freunde. — We are friends. Wir sind Freundinnen specifies female friends.
Useful descriptions: groß = big/tall, klein = small, schön = beautiful/nice, müde = tired, hungrig = hungry, hier = here. For hunger, both Ich bin hungrig and Ich habe Hunger are natural. The second uses haben (to have); learn it as a useful phrase for now.
A noun that identifies the subject
Ich bin der Lehrer. — I am the teacher.
Ich is the subject. Der Lehrer identifies the same person and is a predicate nominative: a noun phrase used with a linking verb. It is not a direct object.
Compare these meanings:
- Ich bin Lehrer. / Ich bin Lehrerin. — I am a teacher, stating a profession; German normally leaves out the article in this plain profession statement.
- Ich bin der Lehrer. / Ich bin die Lehrerin. — I am the particular teacher we mean.
- Ich bin ein Lehrer. — I am a teacher; grammatical, with the article useful in contexts that emphasize membership of a group or a description.
Do not turn this into “everything after sein is nominative.” In Das Buch ist auf dem Tisch (The book is on the table), das Buch is the nominative subject, but auf dem Tisch is a location phrase with dative. Learn auf dem Tisch as a phrase now; lesson 3 explains dem.
4. Put the verb in the right place
In the ordinary main-clause statements practiced here, the conjugated verb occupies the second position. Count sentence units, not individual words:
| First unit | Conjugated verb | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Der Hund | ist | groß. |
| Die Kinder | sind | hier. |
| Heute (today) | sind | die Kinder hier. |
| Hier | ist | das Buch. |
Der Hund is one unit containing two words. Heute sind die Kinder hier is correct even though the subject comes after the verb. Avoid Heute die Kinder sind hier: it pushes the conjugated verb out of second position.
Questions have their own patterns:
- Yes/no question: Ist das ein Buch? — Is that a book? The verb comes first.
- Question-word question: Was ist das? — What is that?
- Wer ist das? — Who is that?
- Wo ist das Buch? — Where is the book?
Wer is the nominative form of who. In an identity question such as Wer ist das?, it can ask for the identifying complement; it does not magically make every other phrase nominative.
Try it before reading the answers:
- Choose bin, ist or sind: Die Kinder ___ hier.
- Use the definite article: ___ Mann ist müde.
- Put Heute / ich / bin / hier into a statement.
- Ask whether that is a cat.
Check: 1. sind, because Kinder is plural. 2. Der, masculine nominative. 3. Heute bin ich hier. 4. Ist das eine Katze? The question starts with ist.
5. Introduce yourself and respond politely
Heißen means to be called: Ich heiße Maria, du heißt, der Hund heißt Bruno, Sie heißen. Notice the forms rather than adding an English-style verb: Ich heiße Maria already means My name is Maria.
| German | Use or meaning |
|---|---|
| Hallo! | Hello! |
| Guten Morgen! | Good morning! |
| Guten Tag! | Good day / Hello! |
| Guten Abend! | Good evening! |
| Gute Nacht! | Good night, usually when parting for the night or going to bed |
| Wie heißen Sie? | What is your name? — formal |
| Wie heißt du? | What is your name? — informal singular |
| Ich heiße Thomas. / Mein Name ist Thomas. | My name is Thomas. |
| Freut mich! | Pleased to meet you! |
| Danke! | Thank you! |
| Danke schön! / Vielen Dank! | Thank you very much! |
| Bitte! | Please in a request; you're welcome after thanks |
| Bitte schön! | You're welcome; here you are when handing something over |
| Entschuldigung! | Excuse me / Sorry! |
| Ja. / Nein. | Yes. / No. |
For a conversation opening, also learn Wie geht es Ihnen? (How are you? — formal), Wie geht es dir? (informal singular) and Mir geht es gut (I'm well). Ihnen, dir, and mir are dative forms, explained in lesson 3. Using a phrase now does not require deriving every ending yet.
6. Use the patterns in a conversation
At your first class, the teacher and learners have chosen formal address:
Teacher: Guten Tag! Ich heiße Frau Weber. Wie heißen Sie?
Good day! My name is Ms Weber. What is your name?
Learner: Ich heiße Maria. Freut mich!
My name is Maria. Pleased to meet you!
Teacher: Freut mich auch! Das ist Herr Braun. Er ist der Lehrer.
Pleased to meet you too! That is Mr Braun. He is the teacher.
Learner: Guten Tag, Herr Braun! Wo ist das Buch?
Hello, Mr Braun! Where is the book?
Teacher: Das Buch ist hier. Bitte schön!
The book is here. Here you are!
Learner: Danke schön!
Thank you very much!
Notice how ich heiße, er ist and das Buch ist use the subject to choose the verb. Der Lehrer identifies Mr Braun, so that noun phrase is also nominative. Bitte schön means here you are when the teacher hands over the book.
Now introduce a small family: Das ist Anna. Sie ist die Mutter. Der Vater heißt Thomas. Das Kind heißt Max. Der Hund heißt Bruno. Die Katze ist klein. — This is Anna. She is the mother. The father's name is Thomas. The child's name is Max. The dog's name is Bruno. The cat is small.
Your task: say your name, introduce one real or imaginary person, and describe one object. Use a question to keep the exchange going. For example: Ich heiße Alex. Das ist meine Mutter. Das Buch ist hier. Wie heißen Sie? Here meine Mutter means my mother; compare mein Vater for my father.
Before moving on, check three things in each sentence: Which expression is the subject? Does the verb match it? Does the article fit the noun's gender and the case needed here?