Table of Contents
Role of the Nominative Case
In German, the nominative case is the basic form of a noun or pronoun. It answers the question “Who?” or “What?” is doing the action in the sentence. This is the form you normally find in the dictionary.
The nominative marks the subject of the sentence. The subject is the person or thing that performs the action of the verb or that is described by the verb “to be” and similar verbs.
Examples in simple English and German:
“I work.” – “Ich arbeite.”
“Who works?” – “Ich.” → “Ich” is nominative.
“She is a teacher.” – “Sie ist Lehrerin.”
“Who is a teacher?” – “Sie.” → “Sie” is nominative.
Important: The subject of a sentence is always in the nominative case.
Nominative with Definite Articles
You already know the definite articles “der,” “die,” and “das” for “the.” In the nominative case, they appear in their basic form:
- der for masculine nouns
- die for feminine nouns
- das for neuter nouns
- die for all plural nouns
You use these forms when the noun is the subject.
Table of nominative definite articles:
| Gender / Number | Article | Example (singular/plural) | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | der | Der Mann arbeitet. | The man works. |
| Feminine | die | Die Frau lacht. | The woman laughs. |
| Neuter | das | Das Kind spielt. | The child plays. |
| Plural | die | Die Kinder spielen. | The children play. |
To find the subject, ask “Wer?” (Who?) or “Was?” (What?) before the verb:
“Wer arbeitet?” – “Der Mann arbeitet.”
“Wer lacht?” – “Die Frau lacht.”
“Was spielt?” – “Das Kind spielt.”
Rule: If the noun answers “Wer?” (who?) or “Was?” (what?) before the verb, it is in the nominative and uses the nominative article (der, die, das, die).
Nominative with the Verb “sein”
The verb “sein” (to be) is often used to describe or identify the subject. In such sentences, both sides of “sein” refer to the same person or thing. You still use the nominative case for the noun after “sein.”
Examples:
“Das ist der Lehrer.” – This is the teacher.
“Das ist die Lehrerin.” – This is the (female) teacher.
“Das ist das Auto.” – This is the car.
“Das sind die Kinder.” – These are the children.
The words after “sein” are also in the nominative, because they describe or rename the subject.
More examples:
“Der Mann ist Lehrer.” – The man is a teacher.
“Die Frau ist Ärztin.” – The woman is a doctor.
“Das Kind ist Schüler.” – The child is a pupil.
Here, “Mann,” “Frau,” and “Kind” are subjects in the nominative, and “Lehrer,” “Ärztin,” and “Schüler” are also in the nominative, because they describe what the subject is.
Rule: Nouns after “sein” are in the nominative case, because they describe the subject.
Nominative and Word Order
In German, the nominative subject is marked by its article, not only by its position. The subject often stands at the beginning of the sentence, but it does not have to.
Examples:
“Der Mann arbeitet heute.” – The man works today.
“Heute arbeitet der Mann.” – Today the man works.
In both sentences, “der Mann” is the subject in the nominative, even though the word order is different. German listeners recognize the subject by “der Mann,” not just by the position in the sentence.
Another example:
“Die Kinder spielen im Park.” – The children play in the park.
“Im Park spielen die Kinder.” – In the park the children play.
In both versions, “die Kinder” is still nominative.
Key idea: Use the article to recognize the nominative subject, not only the word order.
Simple Practice Patterns
You can build many basic sentences using the nominative case, a verb, and sometimes more information.
Pattern with a noun as subject:
Subject (nominative) + verb + extra information
“Der Student lernt.” – The student studies.
“Die Kinder schlafen.” – The children sleep.
“Das Auto fährt.” – The car drives.
“Die Frau singt heute.” – The woman sings today.
Pattern with “sein”:
Subject (nominative) + sein + noun/adjective (also nominative or describing word)
“Der Mann ist müde.” – The man is tired.
“Die Frau ist Lehrerin.” – The woman is a teacher.
“Das Kind ist froh.” – The child is happy.
“Die Studenten sind nett.” – The students are nice.
Try to always identify: who or what is the subject in the nominative, and which article belongs to it.
Nominative Personal Pronouns Overview
In earlier chapters you learn the personal pronouns. Here you see how they look in the nominative, because this is their basic subject form.
Table of nominative personal pronouns:
| Person | German | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person sg. | ich | I | Ich bin müde. – I am tired. |
| 2nd person sg. | du | you (informal) | Du arbeitest. – You work. |
| 3rd person sg. m. | er | he | Er schläft. – He sleeps. |
| 3rd person sg. f. | sie | she | Sie liest. – She reads. |
| 3rd person sg. n. | es | it | Es regnet. – It rains. |
| 1st person pl. | wir | we | Wir spielen. – We play. |
| 2nd person pl. | ihr | you (informal, plural) | Ihr singt. – You sing. |
| 3rd person pl. | sie | they | Sie kommen. – They come. |
| Formal you | Sie | you (formal) | Sie arbeiten. – You work. |
All of these forms are nominative, so they are used as subjects.
Rule: Use the nominative pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie) when they are the subject of the sentence.
New Vocabulary
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Mann | the man |
| die Frau | the woman |
| das Kind | the child |
| der Lehrer | the (male) teacher |
| die Lehrerin | the (female) teacher |
| der Student | the (male) student |
| die Studentin | the (female) student |
| die Kinder | the children |
| das Auto | the car |
| der Park | the park |
| heute | today |
| müde | tired |
| froh | happy |
| nett | nice |
| arbeiten | to work |
| spielen | to play |
| schlafen | to sleep |
| fahren | to drive, to go (by vehicle) |
| singen | to sing |
| lernen | to study, to learn |
| lesen | to read |
| regnen | to rain |
| sein | to be |