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When planning a secret mission, you need to talk about the different types of people involved—from volunteers to strangers to bad guys.

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### Turning Adjectives into Nouns

In English, we often say "the new one", "the stranger", or "a volunteer". In German, you can turn an adjective into a noun that describes a person simply by capitalizing it.

For example, the adjective *neu* (new) becomes a noun representing a new person:

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Even though these words act as nouns, **they still take standard adjective endings** based on gender, case, and the preceding article.

### Subjects (The Nominative Case)

With a definite article (*der*, *die*), the article shows the gender, so the adjective noun takes an **-e** ending in the nominative singular:

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With an indefinite masculine article (*ein*), the adjective shows the gender with an **-er** ending:

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For a feminine subject (*eine*), the ending is **-e**:

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### Direct Objects (The Accusative Case)

Whether you use an indefinite (*einen*) or definite article (*den*), a masculine adjective noun takes the **-en** ending in the accusative case:

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### The Dative Case

Nominalized adjectives also take an **-en** ending in the dative case, such as after prepositions like *mit* or *von*:

{{item:875837}}

Adjectives as nouns for people

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the spy (m)	der Spion
the mission	der Auftrag
The spy (m) wants to finish the mission.	Der Spion will den Auftrag abschließen.
the profile	das Profil
We read the profile of the new one (m).	Wir lasen das Profil des Neuen.
voluntary	freiwillig
to select	auswählen
The boss selected a volunteer (m).	Der Chef hat einen Freiwilligen ausgewählt.
We must select the best one (m) for the mission.	Wir müssen den Besten für den Auftrag auswählen.
the spy (f)	die Spionin
strange	fremd
The spy (f) tries to observe the stranger (m).	Die Spionin versucht, den Fremden zu beobachten.
The stranger (m) did not see the spy (f).	Der Fremde sah die Spionin nicht.
experienced	erfahren
the target person	die Zielperson
An experienced one (m) never forgets the target person.	Ein Erfahrener vergisst die Zielperson nie.
known	bekannt
The target person only speaks with an acquaintance (m).	Die Zielperson spricht nur mit einem Bekannten.
We need an acquaintance (f) of the boss.	Wir brauchen eine Bekannte vom Chef.
The experienced one (m) is reading the profile.	Der Erfahrene liest das Profil.
I am reading the profile of the volunteer (f).	Ich lese das Profil der Freiwilligen.
A stranger (f) gave the spy (m) the new mission.	Eine Fremde gab dem Spion den neuen Auftrag.
The bad guy ran into the city.	Der Böse lief in die Stadt.
We want to catch the bad guy.	Wir wollen den Bösen fangen.
The injured one (m) has no desire to speak.	Der Verletzte hat keine Lust zu sprechen.
the relative	der/die Verwandte
A relative of mine lives here.	Ein Verwandter von mir wohnt hier.
We invited all the relatives.	Wir haben alle Verwandten eingeladen.

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