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### Academic Loan Words: -ment and -um

When discussing sociology or cultural trends, you will encounter many Latin and Greek loan words. Fortunately, their endings make their genders and plural forms highly predictable.

Words ending in **-ment** and **-um** are almost exclusively neuter (**das**).

- To make a **-ment** word plural, add **-e** (e.g., *das Argument* → *die Argumente*).
- To make a **-um** word plural, replace the **-um** with **-en** (e.g., *das Kriterium* → *die Kriterien*).

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### Feminine Endings: -ion and -tät

Words ending in **-ion** and **-tät** are dependably feminine (**die**). Forming the plural for both of these suffixes is perfectly regular: just add **-en**.

- *die Definition* → *die Definitionen*
- *die Identität* → *die Identitäten*

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### Masculine Endings: -ismus

Words ending in **-ismus** are always masculine (**der**). These nouns generally describe movements, belief systems, or cultural attitudes, and they are almost always used in the singular.

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### Combining the Patterns

Once you recognize these suffixes, you can confidently combine and pluralize advanced vocabulary in your sentences. Notice how the plurals for **-um** (*Stadien*, *Kriterien*) and **-ment** (*Elemente*) behave predictably below.

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Gender and plurals of loan words (-ion, -tät, -ismus, -ment, -um)

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 sociologist	der Soziologe
to formulate	formulieren
objective	objektiv
The sociologist formulates an objective criticism.	Der Soziologe formuliert eine objektive Kritik.
central	zentral
the argument	das Argument
It is necessary to formulate central arguments.	Es gilt, zentrale Argumente zu formulieren.
the criterion	das Kriterium
Are the criteria really objective?	Sind die Kriterien wirklich objektiv?
to shape (influence, coin)	prägen
the individual	das Individuum
Society shapes the individual, whereas the individual influences society.	Die Gesellschaft prägt das Individuum, wohingegen das Individuum die Gesellschaft beeinflusst.
the definition	die Definition
the identity	die Identität
What is the exact definition of identity?	Was ist die genaue Definition der Identität?
the activism	der Aktivismus
the authority (power, expert)	die Autorität
Activism criticizes the authorities.	Der Aktivismus kritisiert die Autoritäten.
the cynicism	der Zynismus
Does cynicism shape our modern culture?	Prägt der Zynismus unsere moderne Kultur?
the stage (phase, period)	das Stadium
Are there even objective criteria for this stage?	Gibt es etwa objektive Kriterien für dieses Stadium?
the element	das Element
These elements form our cultural identities.	Diese Elemente formen unsere kulturellen Identitäten.
Do the definitions describe the individuals objectively?	Beschreiben die Definitionen die Individuen objektiv?
The sociologists discuss the arguments of activism.	Die Soziologen diskutieren die Argumente des Aktivismus.
Authorities demand respect, whereas cynicism destroys it.	Autoritäten fordern Respekt, wohingegen der Zynismus ihn zerstört.
We have reached the central stages of the project.	Wir haben die zentralen Stadien des Projekts erreicht.
It is necessary to document the experiments clearly.	Es gilt, die Experimente deutlich zu dokumentieren.
This generation questions the central definitions.	Diese Generation hinterfragt die zentralen Definitionen.
These elements and criteria shape the individual.	Diese Elemente und Kriterien prägen das Individuum.
the team (at work)	das Team
The team has been working on the project since January.	Das Team arbeitet seit Januar an dem Projekt.
Both teams played well.	Beide Teams haben gut gespielt.

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