A1.2 · Sunrise Warmth II

Nominative Case

Nominativ

Learn the subject case in German

Rules & Explanations

The Nominative Case

Der Nominativ

German has four cases — and the nominative is the easiest one. It's the 'default' form, the one you see in dictionaries. When you learned 'der, die, das,' you were learning nominative. Now let's understand WHY it's called nominative and when to use it.

In German, the nominative marks the SUBJECT of a sentence — the person or thing DOING the action. It also follows the verb 'sein' (to be). The articles you already know (der, die, das, ein, eine) are nominative forms.

English used to have cases too (Old English had them!). Today, we only see case changes in pronouns: 'I' vs 'me,' 'he' vs 'him.' German kept the full system for ALL nouns.

Why you need this Someone asks 'Wer ist das?' (Who is that?). You answer 'Das ist der Lehrer' (That is the teacher). Both 'wer' (who) and 'der Lehrer' are nominative — the subject and what describes it.

Der Mann liest. Die Frau singt. Das Kind spielt.

The man reads. The woman sings. The child plays.

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Nominative is your foundation. Once you know it well, the other cases (accusative, dative, genitive) are just CHANGES from this base. Master nominative = understand all cases faster.

What Is the Nominative Case?

Was ist der Nominativ?

When to Use Nominative

Wann man den Nominativ verwendet

Nominative Articles: The Full Picture

Nominativ-Artikel: Die vollständige Übersicht

Common Nominative Mistakes

Häufige Nominativ-Fehler

Nominative Pronouns

Nominativ-Pronomen

Person	Nominative Pronoun	English
1st singular	ich	I
2nd singular (informal)	du	you
3rd singular masculine	er	he
3rd singular feminine	sie	she
3rd singular neuter	es	it
1st plural	wir	we
2nd plural (informal)	ihr	you (plural)
3rd plural / formal	sie / Sie	they / you (formal)

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These nominative pronouns are ALWAYS used as subjects. They change to mich/dich/ihn... in accusative.

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Nominative pronouns: ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie. These are the SUBJECT forms.

How to Find the Subject

Wie man das Subjekt findet

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The subject answers 'Wer/Was + verb?' This test works 100% of the time.

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WER macht das? = Subject = Nominative. Every single time.

Nominative = Dictionary Form

Nominativ = Wörterbuchform

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Dictionary forms = nominative. You've been learning nominative all along!

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der/die/das + ein/eine = nominative. You knew this from day one!

Dialogue: Meeting New People

Dialog: Neue Leute kennenlernen

Quick Reference: Nominative Case

Kurzübersicht: Nominativ

Examples

Der Mann liest ein Buch.

The man reads a book.

Der Mann

Wer liest? Der Mann. Subject = nominative. Uses 'der' (masculine nominative).

Wort	Bedeutung
liest	reads
Der Mann	the man (nominative subject)
ein Buch	a book (accusative object)

Die Frau singt.

The woman sings.

Die Frau

Wer singt? Die Frau. Subject = nominative. Uses 'die' (feminine nominative).

Wort	Bedeutung
singt	sings
Die Frau	the woman (nominative)

Das Kind spielt im Garten.

The child plays in the garden.

Das Kind

Wer spielt? Das Kind. Subject = nominative. Uses 'das' (neuter nominative).

Wort	Bedeutung
spielt	plays
Das Kind	the child (nominative)
im Garten	in the garden

Ein Hund bellt laut.

A dog barks loudly.

Ein Hund

Wer bellt? Ein Hund. Indefinite article 'ein' for masculine nominative.

Wort	Bedeutung
laut	loudly
bellt	barks
Ein Hund	a dog (nominative)

Meine Mutter kocht das Essen.

My mother cooks the food.

Meine Mutter

Wer kocht? Meine Mutter. Possessive + noun as subject = nominative.

Wort	Bedeutung
kocht	cooks
das Essen	the food (accusative)
Meine Mutter	my mother (nominative)

Die Kinder spielen Fußball.

The children play soccer.

Die Kinder

Wer spielt? Die Kinder. Plural subject = nominative plural 'die'.

Wort	Bedeutung
spielen	play
Fußball	soccer
Die Kinder	the children (nominative plural)

Das ist ein Buch.

That is a book.

ein Buch

After 'ist' (sein) = nominative. 'ein Buch' describes 'das'.

Wort	Bedeutung
Das	that (nominative)
ist	is
ein Buch	a book (nominative)

Er ist ein Lehrer.

He is a teacher.

ein Lehrer

After 'ist' = nominative. 'ein Lehrer' (not 'einen') because it follows sein.

Wort	Bedeutung
Er	he (nominative)
ist	is
ein Lehrer	a teacher (nominative)

Sie ist meine Freundin.

She is my friend.

meine Freundin

'meine Freundin' is nominative after 'ist' — describes 'sie'.

Wort	Bedeutung
Sie	she (nominative)
ist	is
meine Freundin	my friend (nominative)

Er wird ein Arzt.

He is becoming a doctor.

ein Arzt

After 'wird' (werden) = nominative. What you become stays nominative.

Wort	Bedeutung
Er	he
wird	becomes
ein Arzt	a doctor (nominative)

Das bleibt ein Problem.

That remains a problem.

ein Problem

After 'bleibt' (bleiben) = nominative. What you remain is nominative.

Wort	Bedeutung
Das	that
bleibt	remains
ein Problem	a problem (nominative)

Morgen kommt der Lehrer.

Tomorrow the teacher comes.

der Lehrer

Subject after verb (inversion) is STILL nominative. 'der Lehrer' = nominative.

Wort	Bedeutung
kommt	comes
Morgen	tomorrow
der Lehrer	the teacher (nominative)

Hier wohnt eine Familie.

Here lives a family.

eine Familie

Place first, verb second, subject third — but subject stays nominative.

Wort	Bedeutung
Hier	here
wohnt	lives
eine Familie	a family (nominative)

Im Park spielt das Kind.

In the park plays the child.

das Kind

Despite coming last, 'das Kind' is the subject = nominative.

Wort	Bedeutung
spielt	plays
Im Park	in the park
das Kind	the child (nominative)

Wer ist der Mann?

Who is the man?

Wer, der Mann

Both 'Wer' and 'der Mann' are nominative — question word and the answer.

Wort	Bedeutung
Wer	who (nominative)
ist	is
der Mann	the man (nominative)

Practice Exercises

15 interactive exercises

Frage 1 von 15

What is the subject? "The dog bites the man."

Grammatik lernen ist nur der Anfang

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