Questions & Answers about Ich habe heute keinen Termin.
Why is it keinen Termin and not kein Termin or keine Termin?
Termin is a masculine noun in German (der Termin).
In this sentence, Termin is the direct object of haben, so it is in the accusative singular. The negating word kein has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case, just like the indefinite article ein.
Declension pattern (singular):
- Nominative: ein Termin → kein Termin
- Accusative: einen Termin → keinen Termin
Since we need the accusative, we get keinen Termin.
Why do we use kein instead of nicht here?