Questions & Answers about Erfahrung ist wichtig.
Why is there no article before Erfahrung?
In German, when you make a general statement about a concept, you often drop the article entirely. Here Erfahrung is used in a generic sense (“experience in general”), so no der, die or eine appears.
What case and number is Erfahrung in this sentence?
Erfahrung is in the nominative singular.
- Nominative because it’s the subject of the verb ist (“is”).
- Singular because we’re referring to the idea of experience as a whole, not individual experiences.
What is the gender of Erfahrung and how would you say “an experience” or “the experience” in German?
Erfahrung is a feminine noun.
- “The experience” = die Erfahrung
- “An experience” = eine Erfahrung
Remember to adjust adjective endings or case endings if you put it into a different grammatical context.
Why isn’t wichtig declined here?
After the copular verb ist (a form of “to be”), adjectives remain in their base form—no endings. We call this a predicate adjective. It simply describes the subject without any case or gender agreement.
Could I use the plural Erfahrungen instead of the singular? If so, how would the sentence change?
Yes. If you want to emphasize individual experiences, use the plural:
Erfahrungen sind wichtig.
Here Erfahrungen (plural) takes the plural verb sind (“are”). The nuance shifts from “experience in general” to “specific experiences.”
Can you use the definite article for a general statement, e.g. Die Erfahrung ist wichtig?
You can, but it feels slightly more specific or abstract.
- Die Erfahrung ist wichtig. might hint at “(this/that) experience is important” or “Experience (as a concept) is important” with a tad more emphasis.
- Without the article (Erfahrung ist wichtig), it’s purely generic and neutral.
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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