German, Make-Believe Stuff, Spelling Reform, Review of Declensions of Nouns

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German - Make-Believe Stuff, Spelling Reform, Review of Declensions of Nouns

Make-Believe Stuff

dragon

fairy

elf

giant

tower

knight

squire

court jester

minstrel

armor

dungeon

moat

castle

der Drache

die Fee

der Elf

der Riese

der Turm

der Ritter

der Edelknabe

der Hofnarr

der Minnesänger

die Rüstung

der Kerker

der Burggraben

das Schloß

unicorn

shield

sword

lance

drawbridge

crown

king

queen

princess

prince

throne

das Einhorn

der Schild

das Schwert

die Lanze

das Beil

die Zugbrücke

die Krone

der König

die Königin

die Prinzessin

der Prinz

der Thron

Spelling Reform

Recently, there has been a spelling reform of the German language. The following are a few points that have changed:

1. Write ss after a short vowel, and ß after a long vowel or diphthong. Please note that ß is not used in Switzerland or Liechtenstein and a lot of people don't pay attention to this rule anyway. Also, there is no capital letter that corresponds to the lower case ß, so it must be written as SS.

2. Words that are now capitalized: (auf) Deutsch, Mittag, Abend, Morgen, Recht haben, Leid tun.

3. The forms of Du (familiar you) are no longer capitalized in letters.

4. A comma is not necessary when two independent clauses are joined by und.

Review of Declensions of Nouns

1) Feminine Singular nouns remain unchanged in all Singular cases.

Singular:	Typewriter	Street
Nom.	die Schreibmaschine	die Straße
Acc.	die Schreibmaschine	die Straße
Dat.	der Schreibmaschine	der Straße
Gen.	der Schreibmaschine	der Straße

2) All Neuter and most Masculine Singular add -s or -es (if one syllable) to Genitive Singular.

Singular:	Shoe	Shirt
Nom.	der Schuh	das Hemd
Acc.	den Schuh	das Hemd
Dat.	dem Schuh	dem Hemd
Gen.	des Schuhes	des Hemdes

3) Masculine nouns that end in -e in Nom. Sing. and designate living things add -n to form both Singular and Plural for all cases.

**Lion(s)**
	Singular	Plural
Nom.	der Löwe	die Löwen
Acc.	den Löwen	die Löwen
Dat.	dem Löwen	den Löwen
Gen.	des Löwen	der Löwen

4) All Dative Plural either adds -n or -en.

	Man	Woman	Child
Nom. Sing.	der Mann	die Frau	das Kind
Dat. Pl.	den Männern	den Frauen	den Kindern

5) In Plurals of all declensions of all genders, the Nominative, Genitive, and Accusative Plural are the same.

	Forest	Pear
Nom. Sing.	der Wald	die Birne
Nom. Pl.	die Wälder	die Birnen
Acc. Pl.	die Wälder	die Birnen
Dat. Pl.	den Wäldern	den Birnen
Gen. Pl.	der Wälder	der Birnen

Note: To form the Dative Plural, add -n or -en to the Nominative Plural, unless it already ends in -s or -n, then add nothing.

Most singular declensions can be formed from the first three rules above, but plural nouns are more complex and irregular. Some may add -n, -en, -r, -er, -e, or an umlaut over the stem vowel with a final -e, and some nouns do not change from singular to plural.

Group 1
-Singular follows rules
-Plural adds umlaut to stem vowel and -n to all datives

**Father(s) (masc.)**
	Sing.	Plural
Nom.	der Vater	die Väter
Acc.	den Vater	die Väter
Dat.	dem Vater	den Vätern
Gen.	des Vaters	der Väter

Nouns belonging to this group: Most nouns whose Nom. Sing. end in -el, -en, -er; and neuter nouns that begin with Ge- and end with -e

Group 2
-Singular follows rules
-Plural sometimes adds umlaut to stem vowel and -e to Nominative, Genitive, and Accusative; -en to Dative

**Fruit (fem.)**
	Sing.	Plural
Nom.	die Frucht	die Früchte
Acc.	die Frucht	die Früchte
Dat.	der Frucht	den Früchten
Gen.	der Frucht	der Früchte

Nouns belonging to this group: Masculine that are one syllable; half of feminine and neuter that are one syllable

Group 3
-Singular follow rules
-Plural adds umlaut to stem vowel and -er to Nominative, Genitive, and Accusative; -ern to Dative

**Man/men (masc.)**
	Sing.	Plural
Nom.	der Mann	die Männer
Acc.	den Mann	die Männer
Dat.	dem Mann	den Männern
Gen.	des Mannes	der Männer

Nouns belonging to this group: Many neuter that are one syllable; no feminine nouns

Group 4
-Singular adds -en to all Masculine Dative, Accusative, and Genitive; Feminine follows rule
-Plural adds -n or -en to all forms

	Student (s)		Woman/Women
	Sing.	Plural	Sing.	Plural
Nom.	der Student	die Studenten	die Frau	die Frauen
Acc.	den Studenten	die Studenten	die Frau	die Frauen
Dat.	dem Studenten	den Studenten	der Frau	den Frauen
Gen.	des Studenten	der Studenten	der Frau	der Frauen

Nouns belonging to this group: Most feminine that are more than one syllable, most masculine that denote living things; no neuter nouns

Group 5
-Add -s to Genitive Singular
-Add -s to all plural forms

**Auto(s) (neu.)**
	Sing.	Plural
Nom.	das Auto	die Autos
Acc.	das Auto	die Autos
Dat.	dem Auto	den Autos
Gen.	des Autos	der Autos

Nouns belonging to this group: Foreign origin words, such as das Radio, das Restaurant, and das Hotel.

Group 6 - Irregular
-Add -ns or -ens to Genitive Singular
-Add -en to Dative Singular, may add -en to Accusative Singular
-All plural add -en

	Heart(s)		Name(s)
	Sing.	Plural	Sing.	Plural
Nom.	das Herz	die Herzen	der Name	die Namen
Acc.	das Herz	die Herzen	den Namen	die Namen
Dat.	dem Herzen	den Herzen	dem Namen	den Namen
Gen.	des Herzens	der Herzen	des Namens	der Namen

Group 7 - Mixed
-Add -s or -es for Genitive Singular
-Add -n or -en for all plural

**Bed(s) (neu.)**
	Sing.	Plural
Nom.	das Bett	die Betten
Acc.	das Bett	die Betten
Dat.	dem Bett	den Betten
Gen.	des Bettes	der Betten