Zero article in German rules. The definite article in German. The use of the zero article
The use of articles in German
When you are learning a foreign language, the most difficult thing to understand and master is the use of constructions that do not exist in Russian. In German, the use of articles can be such an incomprehensible moment, because it is impossible to draw parallels with the native language. However, using mind maps and patterns created by Advance teachers, you will easily learn this traditionally difficult topic.
What articles are used in German?
As you remember, there are only two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. In German, the situation is similar, but the articles are still inflected for gender, case, and number. Therefore, it seems that there are many more of them.
The indefinite article originally meant "some", "some", "one". And the definite article is “this”. These meanings determine the use of articles in modern German.
The article cannot be literally translated into Russian, but it makes it clear what gender, in what number and in what case the noun is. The difficulty lies in the fact that the gender in German is different from the gender in Russian.
For example:
Der Mann is a man. The article der shows that it is a masculine word, as in Russian.
Die Frau is a woman. This word is feminine, we use the article die. Here everything coincides with the Russian language.
Das Mädchen is a girl. However, the article das makes us understand that in German this is a neuter word, no matter how strange it may sound to us. Because of such discrepancies, it is easiest to memorize words together with articles from the very beginning.
To easily and permanently remember all the nuances of using articles, we suggest compiling a mind map.
What is a mind map?
A mind map is a picture that contains a maximum of information with a minimum of characters, but at the same time remains firmly in your memory, because it is incomparably easier for us to keep pictures in our heads than lists or tables.
The mind map consists of circles and arrows. We put the most important information in the center - in our case, this will be directly the article. Further branches are drawn from the center, from the second level - branches to the third level and further, if necessary. There is a rule: in order to memorize and use the map as efficiently as possible, there should be no more than four branches from one circle. As a result, all the information will be compactly collected in a small drawing that will fit on an A4 sheet.
On the topic “Articles”, we will have two such cards - one with an indefinite article in the center, the other with a definite one.
Indefinite articles in German
The indefinite article is required in three cases.
Definite articles in German
German cases
Unlike English, articles in German also change by case. Each case will have its own article form for masculine, feminine and neuter.
Nominativ is an analogue of the Russian nominative. Indefinite article: ein/eine/ein, definite article: der/die/das, + plural die
Genitiv is an analogue of the Russian genitive. Indefinite article: einer/eines/einer, definite article: des/der/des, + plural der
Dativ is an analogue of the Russian dative. Indefinite article: einem/einer/einem, definite article: dem/der/dem, + plural den
Akkusativ - analogue of Russian accusative. Indefinite article: einen/eine/ein, definite article: den/die/das, + plural die
In German, as in Russian, every noun has a gender. And how is this genus expressed? With the help of the article!
Important: it is not at all necessary that the same word in German and Russian will have the same gender.
All nouns in German are always preceded by a function word - a definite or indefinite article.
Today we will focus on the definite article in detail. So, as you can see from the table:
article der- for the masculine singular
article das- for neuter singular
article die- for feminine singular
article die- for plural
Since the gender of a noun in German and Russian often does not match, we always learn that word together with the article: not just "Tisch", but "der Tisch". Otherwise, you simply cannot build a sentence correctly without knowing the gender of the noun.
Declension of the definite article.
The definite article changes depending on the case, so we see in which case the given noun is:
Hints hinting which article to use (what gender the noun has)
So, as you already understood, we learn all new words along with the article.
But is there a way to determine what kind of noun and what article to use? Yes, there are some tips to keep in mind!
Feminine gender (die):
1. Nouns ending in -ung, -schaft, -keit, -heit, -in, ei.
die Acht ung- respect
die Freund schaft- friendship
die Einsam keit- loneliness
die frei heit- freedom
die Freund in- girlfriend
die Backer ei– bakery
2. Foreign words ending in -age, -ade, -ät, -ie, -ik, -ion, etc.
die Band age– bandage
die Ball ade- ballad
die Facult at- faculty
die Akadem ie– academy
die Akrobat ik- acrobatics
die Diskuss ion- discussion (exceptions: das Stad ion, der Sp ion)
Masculine (der):
1. Nouns ending in -er, -ling, -s.
der Lehr er- teacher
der fremd ling- alien
der Fuch s- a fox
2. Foreign words ending in -al, -ant, -or, -ier, ist, etc. (most often they mean the names of persons)
der admiral - admiral
der Demonstration ant- demonstrator
der Agitat or- agitator
der bank ier - banker
der Art ist - artist
3. Seasons, months, days, hours and days (exception - die Nacht)
der Sommer - summer
der February - February
der Abend - evening
4. Cars
der Audi - Audi
der Ferrari - Ferrari
der Abend - evening
5. Natural phenomena
der Sturm - storm
der Nebel - mist
As you know, in German there are two types of articles (art.): indefinite and definite, as well as zero, when the article is absent. In German, art. without a noun (noun) cannot be used, and almost always a noun is used with art. (indefinite or definite), except in certain cases. Both indefinite and definite art. perform an unconditionally important function in a sentence - they first of all determine the gender (p.), number and case of a noun.
The indefinite article (neop. art.) in German is art. ein , which varies by gender:
ein - art. for noun. male and middle r. (ein Haus - house, ein Mann - man, person, ein Buch - book, ein Tisch - table)
eine - art. for noun. female r. (eine Frau - woman, eine Vase - vase, eine Tochter - daughter, eine Schwester - sister)
and cases:
| case | Wed R. | Husband. R. | Female R |
| Nominative | ein Madchen | ein Mann | eine Jacke |
| Genitive | eines Mädchens | eines Mannes | einer Jacke |
| Dative | einem Madchen | einem Mann | einer Jacke |
| Accusative | ein Madchen | einen Mann | eine Jacke |
As can be seen from the table, the noun itself, with the exception of the noun. masculine and neuter in the genitive case, not declined.
Neop. art. used when:
- we are talking about some object that is mentioned for the first time or about an unknown object (in this case, neop. art. can be translated as “some”):
Gestern traf ich einen wunderbaren Knaben. “Yesterday I met a wonderful young man.
Da steht ein Mann. - There is a man standing there.
- there is a comparison:
Du siehst wie ein Engel aus! - You look like an angel!
Er verhält sich wie ein wirklicher Edelmann. He behaves like a real nobleman.
- the noun is preceded by the verbs brauchen, haben or the impersonal phrase es gibt:
Es gibt ein altes Haus in der Straße. There is an old house on (this) street.
Ich habe ein Kleid. - I have a dress.
Dubrauchst einen neuen Sessel. You need a new chair.
Note. The word brauchen does not require neop after itself. art. before words like: Hilfe, Liebe, Freundschaft, Warmheit, the names of the seasons etc.
Ich brauche Hilfe. - I need help.
- it doesn't matter what the subject is; in this case neop. art. can also be translated as "some" or "some":
Ich muss einen Fernseher kaufen. I have to buy (some) TV.
- We are talking about one of the items that are similar to each other:
Nimm bitte eine Blume aus dem Bouquet. - Please take a flower from the bouquet.
Ein Mädchen in dieser Gruppe ist meine Tochter. One of the girls in this group is my daughter.
There is also a turnover, including neop. art. and expressing the selection of one object from other similar – eine (-s, -r) der. Eine(-s, -r) der translates as "one (one, one) of ...". In this case, neop. art. masculine and neuter in the nominative case looks a little different: k art. masculine is added at the end –r, to art. neuter is added at the end - s . In other cases, art. leans unchanged. Neop. art. the feminine gender does not change.
Eines der Mädchen in dieser Gruppe ist meine Tochter. One of the girls in this group is my daughter.
Ich will einen der Tische kaufen. I want to buy one of (these) tables.
At the same time, it should be noted that the art. used only with noun. in the singular. If we are talking about unknown objects or about objects mentioned for the first time, in plural, art. not set. In such cases, the noun is said to have a zero article.
Compare: 1. a) Da gibt es ein Auto. - There's a car.
b) Da gibt es Autos. - There are cars.
2. a) Ich brauche einen neuen Fahrrad. – I need a new bike.
b) Wir brauchen neue Fahrräder. We need new bikes.
3. a) Wirmachen eine neue Ubung. – We are doing a new exercise
b) Wir machen neue Ubungen. We are doing new exercises.
Anyone who is just starting to learn German is faced with the problem of articles. It is difficult for a Russian speaker to understand this topic, because in our speech we do not use anything similar to articles in German. In this article, we simply and simply answer the most common questions among beginners on this topic.
There are several types of articles in German: definite, indefinite and zero. Let's consider each of them in order.
Definite article
There are only four of them:
Der - for masculine nouns (der);
Die - for feminine (di);
Das - for the middle gender (das);
Die is plural (di).
They are used in the following cases:
- When we know what is at stake. If this subject has already been discussed before. For example: der Hund (a certain dog, which has already been mentioned).
- To denote phenomena that are one of a kind, analogues of which do not exist in nature (die Erde - Earth).
- To designate many geographical objects: rivers, cities, mountains, seas, oceans, streets, and so on (die Alpen - Alps).
- If our noun is preceded by (der dritte Mann - the third person), or an adjective (der schnellste Mann - the fastest person).
Indefinite article
Ein - masculine and neuter (ayin);
Eine - feminine (Aine).
There is no article for the plural in this case.
In German, it is used in cases:
- When we talk about objects unfamiliar to us (ein Hund - some kind of dog that we hear about for the first time).
- After the phrase “es gibt” (literally “there is”), for simplicity, we can draw an analogy with the English “there is” (Es gibt einen Weg - there is a road here).
- For species or class designations (Der Löwe ist ein Raubtier - a lion is a predatory animal).
- With the verbs Haben (to have) and Brauchen (to need). For example: "Ich habe eine Arbeit" - I have a job.
Zero article
Not all articles in German actually exist. There is such a thing as In fact, this is the absence of the article at all. So, we don't write anything before a noun if:
- It denotes a profession or occupation (Sie ist Ärztin - she is a doctor).
- Before many proper names (London ist die Hauptstadt von Großbritannien - London is the capital of Great Britain).
- To denote the plural (Hier wohnen Menschen - people live here).
- When designating any chemical substance, material (aus Gold - from gold).
Almost always in Russian and the articles corresponding to it in German differ from each other. For example, if our “girl” is feminine, then in German - middle - “das Mädchen”. It means "girl". There is a set of endings with which you can make it easier to determine the gender of a noun, but for the most part there is only one way out - to remember.
Another difficulty is the declension of articles in German. Just as we don't say "I see a girl" in Russian, so it is in German. Each article is inflected for cases. The task is facilitated by the fact that there are only four cases: Nominativ (nominative), Genetiv (genitive), Dativ (dative) and Akkusativ (like accusative). Declension just needs to be remembered. For your convenience, we provide a table below.
As for the indefinite articles, they are inclined according to the same principle. For example, the masculine article ein in Akk would be einen, simply adding -en to it. This happens with all the other articles.
The presence of the article (art.) is a feature that distinguishes the German language from many others.
Art. is a part of speech that means:
- grammatical features of a noun (noun). Therefore, it takes place when substantiating any word: leben - das Leben (to live - life); fünf - die Fünf (five - five);
- gender, case, number: der Lehrer (teacher), des Lehrers (teachers), die Lehrer (plural);
- indicates the meaning of certainty and indeterminacy of noun. in a sentence: Das ist ein Buch. Das Buch ist sehr interessant. - This is a book. The book is very interesting.
There is a definite article (def. art.) (singular: der, die, das; plural: die) and indefinite art. (ein, eine, ein; no plural).
Def. art. used in German:
- before (trans.) noun, denoting something unique, unique: die Erde - Earth, der Mond - Moon, die UNO - UN;
- per. noun denoting a specific object in a given situation: Monika saß auf der Couch. Monica sat on the couch. Er wäscht sich die(seine) Hande, den Kopf. - He washes (his) hands, head. Sie wohnen in der Gartenstraße. They live on Sadovaya Street.
- per. noun denoting an object or person known to the interlocutors: Wie war der Konzert? - How was the concert? Gefällt Ihnen der Film? - Do you like the movie?
- per. nouns that are mentioned in a conversation or text: Ein Hund stand auf einmal vor meiner Tür. Der Hund war klein mit langen Ohren. “A dog suddenly appeared in front of my door. The dog was small with long ears.
- per. abstract concepts that are used for generalization: die Jugend - youth, die Heimat - Motherland, Das Leben kann so wunderschön sein! Life can be so wonderful!
- per. a noun that is defined with an adjective or a subordinate clause: Wir mieten die Wohnung im ersten Stock. We rent an apartment on the second floor. Sie hatte das Gefühl, krank zu sein. She had a feeling that she was sick.
- before geographical names (names of seas, lakes, mountains, etc.) and before the names of some countries: die Alpen - Alps, der Bodensee - Bodensee, der Ural - Ural, das Europa - Europe, der Süden - South, das Afrika — Africa; Italien - Italy, Frankreich - France, Russland - Russia, but: der Iran - Iran, die Schweiz - Switzerland, die Ukraine - Ukraine, die Philippinen - Philippines and others.
- before some proper names: der Marienplatz - Mariinsky Square, die Berliner Philharmoniker - Berlin Philharmonic.
- if the noun denotes the whole type of these objects or persons: Die Rose ist eine Blume. - A rose is a flower. Der Mensch ist sterblich - Man is mortal. Watt hat die Dampfmaschine erfunden - Watt invented the steam engine.
- colloquially before names: Die Meiers wollen umziehen. The Mayers want to move.
Def. art. in German it is also used for education:
- nouns from other parts of speech: das Spazierengehen - a walk, die Mutigen - daredevils, das Lesen - reading;
- adjectival superlatives: Tom ist der jüngste Schüler in unserer Klasse. Tom is the youngest student in our class.
You can also replace the prepositions pro and je in German with the definite article before a certain value or quantity: Der Stoff kostet zehn Euro der Meter. The fabric costs ten Euros per meter. Er verkauft den Tomaten für zwei Euro das Pfund. He sells tomatoes for two Euros a pound.