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We differentiate between
definite and indefinite articles. If you say "yesterday a
man rang my door bell", you have not defined the man yet, so you
use the indefinite article. If you go on to say "the
man wanted to sell candles", you are defining the man in some
way by giving further information about him; therefore you use
the definite article.
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the
definite article "the" in German:
| |
Singular |
Plural |
|
for
masculine nouns |
der |
die |
|
for
feminine nouns |
die |
die |
|
for
neuter nouns |
das |
die |
the indefinite article "a(n)"
in German:
| |
Singular |
Plural* |
|
for
masculine nouns |
ein |
---- |
|
for
feminine nouns |
eine |
---- |
|
for
neuter nouns |
ein |
---- |
*
"a(n)" doesn't exist in the plural, you can't say "a books" |
Das
Auto ist klein und praktisch.
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All the
possessive articles
(my = mein, your = dein/Ihr, his = sein, her = ihr ....) and "kein"
take the
same endings as the indefinite article, i.e. if "ein" does not
have an ending, they do not have one either, and if "ein" adds
an ending, they add the same one, e.g.
Das
ist ein Computer. -> Das ist sein Computer.
Das
ist eine Tasche. -> Das ist deine Tasche.
Er
braucht einen Laptop. -> Er braucht meinen Laptop.
Sie hat einen Bruder. ->
Sie hat keinen Bruder.
And
whereas "a(n)" doesn't exist in the plural, the possessive
adjectives can of course be used in the plural, e.g.
Kinder trinken oft Milch. ->
Meine Kinder trinken oft Milch.
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