📖 Grammar (Grammatik)¶
Welcome to the structured roadmap for mastering German grammar! This overview connects all major topics and allows you to quickly jump to any subcategory, from beginner concepts to advanced syntax.
📑 Articles (Artikel)¶
Articles define the gender, number, and case of nouns and are fundamental to the German language.
| Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|
| Definite | The 'der, die, das' articles and their full declension table. |
| Indefinite | The 'ein, eine, ein' articles and their declension. |
| Negative | The negative article 'kein' and its usage. |
| No article | Rules for when no article is used (e.g., with materials, professions). |
📝 Nouns (Nomen)¶
The German noun system is complex due to gender, plural, and case.
| Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|
| Cases | Detailed breakdown of Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ, and Genitiv function. |
| Declension | Noun declension rules, including the weak N-Declension. |
| Gender | Tips and rules for remembering the grammatical gender (der/die/das). |
| Plurals | The five main categories of German plural formation. |
🏃 Verbs (Verben)¶
The core of German sentence structure, covering action and time.
| Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|
| Conjugation | Rules for regular (weak) verb conjugation in the present tense. |
| Irregular verbs | Common strong and mixed verbs and their changes across tenses. |
| Auxiliary verbs | Use of haben, sein, and werden for compound tenses and passive voice. |
| Modal verbs | können, müssen, dürfen, sollen, wollen, mögen and their syntax. |
| Separable verbs | Verbs with prefixes that split in main clauses (e.g. aufstehen → Ich stehe auf.). |
| Imperative | Forming commands for du, ihr, and Sie forms. |
| Passive voice | Forming the passive voice in various tenses (using werden). |
| Tenses | Overview of Präsens, Perfekt, Präteritum, Plusquamperfekt, Futur I & II. |
🎨 Adjectives (Adjektive)¶
Rules for describing nouns and creating comparisons.
| Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|
| Declension | The comprehensive rules for weak, mixed, and strong adjective endings. |
| Comparison | Comparative and superlative forms (schnell, schneller, am schnellsten). |
🙋 Pronouns (Pronomen)¶
Words that replace nouns, varying by person, number, and case.
| Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|
| Personal | Subject and object pronouns for all persons (ich, du, er, etc.). |
| Possessive | Pronouns showing ownership (mein, dein, sein, etc.). |
| Reflexive | Pronouns used with reflexive verbs (mich, dich, sich). |
| Demonstrative | Pointing pronouns like dieser, jener (this one, that one). |
| Relative | Pronouns used to introduce relative clauses (der, die, das, welcher). |
| Interrogative | Question pronouns like wer, was, welcher (who, what, which). |
| Indefinite | Unspecific pronouns like jemand, niemand, etwas, man. |
🏗️ Syntax (Satzbau)¶
How sentences are constructed, covering word order and clause types.
| Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|
| Main clauses | The standard structure of simple German statements (V2 rule). |
| Subordinate clauses | Rules for dependent clauses: verb at the end (dass, weil, obwohl). |
| Conjunctions | Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions (und, aber, weil, obwohl). |
| Questions | Forming Yes/No questions and W-questions. |
| Negation | Placement and usage of nicht and kein. |
| Word order | The rules for placing sentence elements (Time, Manner, Place - TeKaMoLo). |
🎲 Miscellany (Verschiedenes)¶
Includes topics that don't fit neatly into the main categories, such as conjunctions and particles.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Prepositions | Rules for Dativ, Akkusativ, and Two-Way prepositions. |
| Conjunctions | Coordinating (und, aber, oder) and subordinating conjunctions. |
| Adverbs | Types and placement of adverbs (time, manner, place, reason). |
| Particles | Common German filler words (doch, halt, mal) and their functions. |
💡 Tips¶
- Consistency beats intensity: 10 minutes of grammar practice every day is better than 3 hours once a month.
- Learn patterns, not exceptions: German loves rules with exceptions, but focusing on the patterns makes the exceptions easier to remember.
- Case awareness: Always ask yourself: Who is doing what to whom? That mental question helps you spot the right case.
- Articles are your compass: Pay close attention to der, die, das. They tell you almost everything about gender, case, and number.
- Practice in context: Don’t just memorize tables—use sentences, short dialogues, or your own examples.
- Mistakes are fuel: If you never mess up, you’re not pushing yourself. Germans will still understand you if you swap dem and den—you just sound like a tourist.
- Shadowing works: Repeat out loud what you hear from natives (YouTube, podcasts, etc.) to internalize grammar without memorizing.
- Grammar + Vocabulary = Power: Grammar is structure, but without words it’s an empty skeleton. Learn them together.