Meine linke Hand tut weh.

my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)

Breakdown of Meine linke Hand tut weh.

• die Hand: the hand
• wehtun: to hurt
• link: left

Questions & Answers about Meine linke Hand tut weh.

Why is it meine and not mein?

Because Hand is a feminine noun: die Hand.

The possessive word mein- changes its ending to match the noun’s gender, number, and case. With a feminine singular noun in the nominative, it becomes meine.

So:

• mein Arm = my arm
• meine Hand = my hand

Also, because meine already works like a determiner, you do not add die before Hand.

Why does linke end in -e?

That is the adjective ending.

In meine linke Hand, linke describes Hand, so it has to take an ending. Because meine already shows feminine singular nominative, the adjective takes the weak ending -e.

So the pattern is:

• meine linke Hand
• deine rechte Hand
• die kalte Suppe

This is a very common pattern in German adjective declension.

What case is meine linke Hand in?