Edexcel A-Level German (9GN0) · Grammar backbone 3 of 10 — Adjective endings
A-Level Grammar
Adjective endings
An attributive adjective (one standing before a noun) always carries an ending in German, and that ending depends on three things at once: the case, the gender/number of the noun, and — crucially — what kind of word comes before the adjective. There are exactly three declension patterns: weak, mixed and strong.
der gute Wein · ein guter Wein · guter Weinsame adjective, three endings — decided by what precedes it
Work through each screen and answer the questions. Collect ⭐ and press Start.
The system
Three declensions, one decision
Which pattern you use is decided by the word before the adjective:
Weak — after a definite article or der-word (der, die, das, dieser, jeder, welcher, alle). The article already shows case, so the adjective barely changes: only -e or -en.
Mixed — after an ein-word (ein, kein, mein, dein…). Weak endings, except where ein has no ending — there the adjective takes the strong ending.
Strong — with no article at all. The adjective must do the whole job of showing case and gender, so it takes the full article-like endings.
One mantra: "the ending has to appear somewhere." If the article shows it, the adjective relaxes (weak); if there is no article, the adjective carries it (strong).
Weak declension
After der / die / das
Only two endings appear: -e in the nominative singular (all genders) and the accusative feminine/neuter; -en absolutely everywhere else.
case
masc.
fem.
neut.
plural
Nom
der gute
die gute
das gute
die guten
Akk
den guten
die gute
das gute
die guten
Dat
dem guten
der guten
dem guten
den guten
Gen
des guten
der guten
des guten
der guten
Shortcut: the five "-e" boxes form an L-shape in the top-left; the whole rest of the grid is -en.
Quick check
Weak — nominative masculine
?Complete: Der ___ Mann wartet. ("The good man is waiting." — gut.)
Type it
Your turn — weak feminine
1Complete: Die ___ Frau lacht. ("The good woman is laughing." — gut, single word.)
Hint: weak, nominative singular → -e.
Quick check
Weak — dative plural
?Complete: Ich spiele mit den ___ Kindern. ("…with the good children." — gut.)
Mixed declension
After ein / kein / mein
Identical to the weak pattern except in the three boxes where ein shows no ending — there the adjective borrows the strong ending so the gender is still visible:
case
masc.
fem.
neut.
plural (kein)
Nom
ein guter
eine gute
ein gutes
keine guten
Akk
einen guten
eine gute
ein gutes
keine guten
Dat
einem guten
einer guten
einem guten
keinen guten
Gen
eines guten
einer guten
eines guten
keiner guten
The three "strong" boxes: nom. masc. (-er), nom. neut. and acc. neut. (-es) — exactly where ein itself is bare.
Quick check
Mixed — nominative masculine
?Complete: Er ist ein ___ Mann. ("He is a good man." — gut.)
Quick check
Mixed — neuter
?Complete: Das ist ein ___ Kind. ("That is a good child." — gut.)
Type it
Your turn — mixed accusative
2Complete: Ich habe einen ___ Wagen. ("I have a new car." — neu, single word.)
Hint: einen already shows the accusative masculine, so the adjective is weak: -en.
Sort it
Pick the correct ending
Strong declension
No article — the adjective carries it all
With no article (after etwas, viel, wenig, mehrere, numbers, or nothing), the adjective takes the der-word endings — except the genitive masc./neut., which is -en (the noun already shows -s):
case
masc.
fem.
neut.
plural
Nom
guter Wein
gute Milch
gutes Bier
gute Weine
Akk
guten Wein
gute Milch
gutes Bier
gute Weine
Dat
gutem Wein
guter Milch
gutem Bier
guten Weinen
Gen
guten Weines
guter Milch
guten Bieres
guter Weine
Notice: these endings mirror der/die/das/dem/des… almost exactly — guter, gute, gutes, gutem, guter — because the adjective is now the only signpost.