Questions & Answers about Der einzige Fehler ist hier.
Why does the adjective einzige end in -e here?
Because it comes after a singular definite article (der) and describes the subject of the sentence (nominative case). When an adjective follows der, die, or das for a singular noun in the nominative case, it always takes an -e ending.
Why can we not use nur to mean only in this sentence, like Der nur Fehler?
Nur is an adverb, which means it describes actions or amounts, like in Ich mache nur einen Fehler (I am making only one mistake). When you use only as an adjective to directly describe a noun (the only mistake), you must use the adjective einzig instead.
Is the adjective einzige related to the number ein?
Yes! The base adjective is einzig, which is built from ein and means single or sole. With the nominative adjective ending added to match der, it becomes einzige.
How do we know the gender of Fehler here?
The article der at the start of the sentence shows us that Fehler is a masculine noun. As a helpful pattern to remember, many German nouns ending in -er are masculine.
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