Breakdown of Der Schriftsteller liest alle alten Romane.
alle
all, everyone
alt
old
lesen
to read
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
Questions & Answers about Der Schriftsteller liest alle alten Romane.
Why does the adjective alten end in -en here?
This is the main rule for adjective endings after alle (all) or beide (both) in the plural. These words act like definite articles (like die). Because they already show the plural case clearly, the adjective following them gets the weak ending -en. So it is alle alten Romane, just as it would be die alten Romane.
What would happen if we used viele (many) instead of alle?
If you use words like viele, einige, or mehrere, they do not act like definite articles. Instead, the adjective has to do the heavy lifting and take the strong ending. In the accusative plural, that ending is -e. So it would be viele alte Romane (many old novels), contrasting with alle alten Romane.
Where does the word Schriftsteller come from?
It is a compound noun! It comes from die Schrift (the writing or script) and der Steller (someone who puts or places something, from the verb stellen). Literally, it means a writing-placer, but it is the standard German word for an author or writer of books.
What case is alle alten Romane in this sentence?