German grammer

Plurals

- Main types of plurals

o -n
o -e
o -er
o -s
o –
o -e + umlaut
o -er + umlaut
o - + umlaut
- Gender = main indicator
o Most masculine and neuter nouns = -e
o Plus masculine nouns also take an umlaut 50% of the time
o Most of the time (around 90%) feminine nouns take the – (e)n plural
- Certain endings/suffixes take the same plural regardless of the gender (these are
always polysyllabic nouns)
o -e = -nis, -ling, -ig, -ich
o -er + umlaut = -tum
o No change = -chen, -lein
o No change or no change + umlaut = -er, -el, -en
 Except the feminine version of -er and -el = –(e) n plural without the
‘e’
o -e = –(e) n plural (without doubling the e)
- If you don’t recognise the suffix + if it is feminine or in reference to a male then = -
(e)n
- If you don’t know the gender + it isn’t an exception to a rule + it is
monosullable/without a suffix the best bet = -e + umlaut (as most single-syllable
noun plurals are this)
- Still unsure? Best bet = -e

- Examples of plural endings…

o -n = Elephant/Elephanten
o -e = Eierlikör/Eierliköre
o -er = Ei/Eier
o -s = Auto/Autos
o – = Fenster/Fenster
o -e + umlaut = Hand/Hände
o -er + umlaut = Wort/Wörter
o - + umlaut = Shaden/Shäden

- Plurals with no change =

o Only masculine or neuter nouns = ALL feminine words change
 Most masculine ending with -er, -el, or -en… e.g.
  Der Sessel (armchair)
 Der Fahrer (the driver)
 Der Onkel
 Der Computer
 Exceptions include:
 Der Vetter/die Vettern (Male cousin)
 Der Stachel/die Stacheln (thorn)
 Der Charakter/die Charaktere (Character)
 Der Muskel/die Muskeln (muscle)
o All nouns ending with -chen, -lein
o Ge…e neuter nouns
o Most nouns ending with -el, -er, or -en
 except feminine ones = -n plural
 and others just add an umlaut e.g
 around 20 masculine words (they end with -er, -el, or -en, like
the “no change” nouns) e.g.
o Vater
o Bruder
o Garten
o Mantel (coat)
o Apfel
 2 feminine words
o Mutter
o Tochter
 2 Neuter words
o Kloster (cloister)
o Wasser
- Add an -e =
o Almost all masculine and neuter nouns
 All masculine with -eur, -ich, -ier, -ig, -ling, -ör
 Most masculine words with -är, -ar, -ig, -an, -al, -or, -on…e.g.
 Der Tisch/die Tisch
 Der Arm/die Arme
 Der Hund/die Hunde
 Der Versuch/die Versuche (attempt)
 All neuter with -nis, -sal
o All feminine and neuter nouns ending in -nis or -sal
- Add and -e + umlaut =
o Many masculine monosyllabic words…e.g
 Der Bach/die Bäche (creek)
 Der Stuhl/die Stühle
 Der Fuß/die Füße
 Der Bart/die Bärte
o About 30 feminine words
o 1 neuter word =
 Floß (raft)
- Add an – ( e) n
o Most feminine nouns
o Very few masculine and neuter words
 All masculine that end with e + a handful of others…e.g.
 ‘weak’ masculine nouns that refer to male people and animals:
o Der Affe/die Affen (monkey)
o Der Student/die Studenten (male student)
 Random outliers…
o Der Buchstabe/Buchstaben (letter of the alphabet)
o Der Friede/Frieden (peace)
o Der Funke/Funken (spark)
o Der Gedanke/Gedanken (thought)
o Der Name/Namen
o Der Same/Samen (seed)
o Der Fleck/die Flecken (spot/stain)
o Der Schmerz/die Schmerzen (pain)

- Add -er + umlaut =

o About 12 masculine words
o Many neuter monosyllabic words
o No feminine words
o E.g.
 Der Gott/die Götter (God)
 Der Mann/die Männer (Man)
 Der Wald/die Wälder (forest)
 Der Irrtum/die Irrtümer (Error)
- Add -s
o Only words of foreign origin ending in an -a, -I, -o, -u, -y (all vowels except e)