B1.2 · Ocean Depth II

Adjective Declension Strong

Adjektivdeklination stark

Decline adjectives without articles

Rules & Explanations

Strong Adjective Declension

Starke Adjektivdeklination

When there's NO ARTICLE before an adjective, the adjective must do ALL the work of showing gender, case, and number. This is called STRONG declension — the adjective endings are strong because they carry the full grammatical information. Think: 'kaltER Kaffee' (cold coffee) — the -ER tells you it's masculine nominative!

German has THREE adjective declension patterns: STRONG (no article), WEAK (with der/die/das), and MIXED (with ein/eine/kein). Strong endings are the most distinctive because they mirror the definite article endings.

English adjectives never change: 'cold coffee,' 'cold water,' 'cold milk' — always just 'cold.' German adjectives change their endings based on gender, case, AND whether there's an article!

Why you need this Menus and food: 'frisches Brot' (fresh bread), 'kaltes Bier' (cold beer). Descriptions without articles: 'bei schönem Wetter' (in nice weather), 'mit großer Freude' (with great joy).

Ich trinke kalten Kaffee.

I drink cold coffee.

No article before 'Kaffee' → adjective takes strong ending '-en' (masculine accusative).

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Strong declension appears constantly: in food descriptions, weather expressions, abstract concepts, and after words like 'viel,' 'wenig,' 'etwas,' and numbers. You cannot avoid it!

When to Use Strong Declension

Wann benutzt man die starke Deklination?

Strong Adjective Endings

Starke Adjektivendungen

Special Cases and Patterns

Sonderfälle und Muster

Common Mistakes with Strong Declension

Häufige Fehler bei der starken Deklination

Strong Adjective Endings Table

Tabelle: Starke Adjektivendungen

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	-ER (kalter)	-E (kalte)	-ES (kaltes)	-E (kalte)
Accusative	-EN (kalten)	-E (kalte)	-ES (kaltes)	-E (kalte)
Dative	-EM (kaltem)	-ER (kalter)	-EM (kaltem)	-EN (kalten)
Genitive	-EN (kalten)	-ER (kalter)	-EN (kalten)	-ER (kalter)

Strong Endings vs. Article Endings

Starke Endungen vs. Artikelendungen

Case	Article (M)	Strong Ending (M)	Same?
Nominative	dER	-ER	✓ Yes
Accusative	dEN	-EN	✓ Yes
Dative	dEM	-EM	✓ Yes
Genitive	dES	-EN	✗ No! -EN

At the Market

Auf dem Markt

Strong Adjective Declension Summary

Zusammenfassung: Starke Adjektivdeklination

Examples

Kalter Kaffee schmeckt nicht gut.

Cold coffee does not taste good.

Kalter Kaffee

No article + masculine nominative = -ER. Like dER → kaltER.

Wort	Bedeutung
Kaffee	coffee (der Kaffee = masc.)
Kalter	cold (-er = masc. nom.)

Frisches Brot ist lecker.

Fresh bread is delicious.

Frisches Brot

No article + neuter nominative = -ES. Like daS → frischES.

Wort	Bedeutung
Brot	bread (das Brot = neut.)
Frisches	fresh (-es = neut. nom.)

Frische Milch ist gesund.

Fresh milk is healthy.

Frische Milch

No article + feminine nominative = -E. Like diE → frischE.

Wort	Bedeutung
Milch	milk (die Milch = fem.)
Frische	fresh (-e = fem. nom.)

Kleine Kinder spielen gern.

Small children like to play.

Kleine Kinder

No article + plural nominative = -E. Like diE → kleinE.

Wort	Bedeutung
Kinder	children (die Kinder = pl.)
Kleine	small (-e = pl. nom.)

Ich trinke kalten Kaffee.

I drink cold coffee.

kalten Kaffee

No article + masculine ACCUSATIVE = -EN. Like dEN → kaltEN.

Wort	Bedeutung
Kaffee	coffee (direct object)
kalten	cold (-en = masc. acc.)

Ich esse frisches Obst.

I eat fresh fruit.

frisches Obst

No article + neuter accusative = -ES (same as nominative).

Wort	Bedeutung
Obst	fruit (das Obst = neut.)
frisches	fresh (-es = neut. acc.)

Mit gutem Wein feiert man besser.

With good wine one celebrates better.

Mit gutem Wein

mit + no article + masculine dative = -EM. Like dEM → gutEM.

Wort	Bedeutung
Mit	with (+ dat.)
Wein	wine (der Wein)
gutem	good (-em = masc. dat.)

Bei schönem Wetter gehen wir spazieren.

In nice weather we go for a walk.

Bei schönem Wetter

bei + no article + neuter dative = -EM.

Wort	Bedeutung
Bei	in/at (+ dat.)
Wetter	weather (das Wetter)
schönem	nice (-em = neut. dat.)

Mit großer Freude nehme ich an.

With great joy I accept.

Mit großer Freude

mit + no article + feminine dative = -ER. Like dER → großER.

Wort	Bedeutung
Mit	with (+ dat.)
Freude	joy (die Freude)
großer	great (-er = fem. dat.)

Zwei kleine Hunde spielen im Garten.

Two small dogs are playing in the garden.

Zwei kleine Hunde

After numbers, use strong endings. Plural nominative = -E.

Wort	Bedeutung
Zwei	two (no ending)
Hunde	dogs
kleine	small (-e = pl. nom.)

Ich trinke viel kaltes Wasser.

I drink a lot of cold water.

viel kaltes Wasser

After viel (uncountable), use strong endings. Neuter accusative = -ES.

Wort	Bedeutung
viel	much/a lot of
Wasser	water
kaltes	cold (-es = neut. acc.)

Ich habe etwas Interessantes gelesen.

I read something interesting.

etwas Interessantes

After etwas/nichts: nominalized adjective (capitalized!) with neuter ending -ES.

Wort	Bedeutung
etwas	something
Interessantes	interesting (nominalized, neut. acc.)

Trotz schlechten Wetters gingen wir wandern.

Despite bad weather we went hiking.

Trotz schlechten Wetters

Genitive + no article + neuter = -EN (exception! not -es). Plus noun ending -s.

Wort	Bedeutung
Trotz	despite (+ gen.)
Wetters	weather (+s)
schlechten	bad (-en = neut. gen.)

Ich mag heißen, starken Kaffee.

I like hot, strong coffee.

heißen, starken Kaffee

Multiple adjectives ALL take the same ending. Masculine accusative = -EN for both.

Wort	Bedeutung
Kaffee	coffee (masc. acc.)
heißen	hot (-en)
starken	strong (-en)

Mit guten Freunden ist das Leben schöner.

With good friends life is more beautiful.

Mit guten Freunden

mit + no article + plural dative = -EN.

Wort	Bedeutung
Mit	with (+ dat.)
guten	good (-en = pl. dat.)
Freunden	friends (+n dat. pl.)

Practice Exercises

15 interactive exercises

Frage 1 von 15

Cold coffee does not taste good.

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