Ich habe ein eigenes Auto.

the car

Breakdown of Ich habe ein eigenes Auto.

• ich: I
• haben: to have
• eigen: own

Questions & Answers about Ich habe ein eigenes Auto.

Why is Auto capitalized?

In German, all nouns are always capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence. That’s why Auto (car) starts with a capital letter.

What is the gender and case of Auto in this sentence?

Auto is a neuter noun (das Auto). Here it’s the direct object of the verb haben, so it’s in the accusative case. Neuter nouns use the same form for nominative and accusative.

Why is the article ein and not einen?

Because Auto is neuter. The accusative form of the indefinite article for neuter nouns remains ein. Einen would be used only for masculine nouns in the accusative.

Why does eigen take the ending -es (making eigenes)?

After an indefinite article with a noun in the neuter accusative, an attributive adjective needs the ending -es to show gender and case. So you get ein eigenes Auto.

Can I drop the article and say Ich habe eigenes Auto?