Revealing Gender in the Nominative Case
When you use indefinite articles (ein), possessive articles (mein, dein, unser), or negative articles (kein) in the nominative case, the adjective endings follow a simple rule: if the article doesn't clearly show the noun's gender, the adjective must do it instead.
Here is how adjectives decline after these articles (often called "ein-words") in the nominative case:
| Gender | Article | Adjective Ending | Example |
|---|
| Masculine | ein, mein, kein | -er | ein neuer Herd |
| Feminine | eine, meine, keine | -e | eine neue Waschmaschine |
| Neuter | ein, mein, kein | -es | ein neues Auto |
Masculine Nouns (-er)
For masculine nouns in the nominative case, articles like ein, mein, and dein have no special ending. To show that the noun is masculine (a job normally done by der), the adjective takes the strong ending -er.
Feminine Nouns (-e)
Feminine articles like eine, meine, and deine already end in -e. Because the article clearly signals the feminine gender, the adjective simply takes the basic -e ending.
Neuter Nouns (-es)
Just like with masculine nouns, neuter articles like ein, mein, and kein have no ending in the nominative case. To show that the noun is neuter (normally marked by das), the adjective takes the strong -es ending.
This same rule applies when using the negative article kein.
