Ich sehe einen alten Hund.
English: I see an old dog.
- Language
- German
- Level
- A1
- Unit
- Adjektive und Zahlen
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
Adjective declension after an indefinite article in German means changing the ending of an adjective (like 'klein', 'schön') when it comes after 'ein', 'eine', or 'kein'. The ending depends on the gender, case, and number of the noun.
When to use it
Use this when you have an adjective right after an indefinite article ('ein', 'eine', 'kein') and before a noun. The adjective needs a special ending to match the gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), case (nominative, accusative, dative), and number (singular, plural) of the noun.
Key forms
- ein kleiner Mann (Nominative, masculine)
- eine schöne Frau (Nominative, feminine)
- ein kleines Kind (Nominative, neuter)
- keine guten Bücher (Nominative, plural)
Examples
Sie hat eine neue Tasche.
English: She has a new bag.
Wir kaufen ein großes Auto.
English: We are buying a big car.
Er liest keine langen Bücher.
English: He does not read long books.
Tips
- Remember: The adjective ending changes with the article, gender, and case.
- After 'ein' or 'kein', the adjective often takes the same ending as the definite article would.
- Do not forget to add an ending to the adjective after 'ein', even if the adjective is short.