Adjective Endings: Dative and Genitive

With the nominative and accusative mastered, it is time to complete your knowledge of German adjective endings with the dative and genitive cases. The good news: both of these cases have remarkably simple adjective endings.

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Dative Adjective Endings

The Simple Rule

In the dative case, all adjective endings are -en, regardless of gender, number, or declension type:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Weak (after dem/der/dem/den)	-en	-en	-en	-en
Mixed (after einem/einer/einem/keinen)	-en	-en	-en	-en
Strong (no article)	-em	-er	-em	-en

For weak and mixed declension, the answer is always -en. Only strong declension (no article) requires the adjective to carry the case signal: -em (masculine/neuter) and -er (feminine).

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Weak and Mixed Dative: Always -en

With Definite Articles

Gender	Article + Adjective + Noun
Masculine	dem großen Mann
Feminine	der großen Frau
Neuter	dem großen Haus
Plural	den großen Häusern

With Indefinite Articles / Possessives

Gender	Article + Adjective + Noun
Masculine	einem großen Mann
Feminine	einer großen Frau
Neuter	einem großen Haus
Plural	keinen großen Häusern

Examples

Sentence	Translation
Ich helfe dem alten Mann.	I am helping the old man.
Sie gibt der neuen Kollegin ein Buch.	She gives the new colleague a book.
Wir wohnen in einem kleinen Dorf.	We live in a small village.
Er spricht mit seinen deutschen Freunden.	He is speaking with his German friends.
Das Geschenk ist für meinen besten Freund.	The gift is for my best friend.
In dem schönen Garten blühen Rosen.	In the beautiful garden, roses are blooming.

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Strong Dative: Adjective Carries the Signal

When there is no article, the adjective must show the dative case:

Gender	Adjective + Noun	Ending
Masculine	gutem Wein	-em
Feminine	frischer Milch	-er
Neuter	kaltem Wasser	-em
Plural	guten Freunden	-en

Examples

Sentence	Translation
Mit großem Interesse habe ich das gelesen.	With great interest, I read that.
Er trinkt Kaffee mit warmer Milch.	He drinks coffee with warm milk.
Bei schlechtem Wetter bleiben wir zu Hause.	In bad weather, we stay at home.
Nach langen Verhandlungen kam eine Einigung.	After long negotiations, an agreement was reached.
Aus reinem Gold ist der Ring.	The ring is made of pure gold.

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Genitive Adjective Endings

The Rule

Like the dative, the genitive has a remarkably simple pattern:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Weak (after des/der/des/der)	-en	-en	-en	-en
Mixed (after eines/einer/eines/keiner)	-en	-en	-en	-en
Strong (no article)	-en	-er	-en	-er

For weak and mixed declension: always -en (identical to dative).

For strong declension: -en for masculine and neuter, -er for feminine and plural.

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Weak and Mixed Genitive: Always -en

With Definite Articles

Gender	Article + Adjective + Noun
Masculine	des großen Mannes
Feminine	der großen Frau
Neuter	des großen Hauses
Plural	der großen Häuser

With Indefinite Articles / Possessives

Gender	Article + Adjective + Noun
Masculine	eines großen Mannes
Feminine	einer großen Frau
Neuter	eines großen Hauses
Plural	keiner großen Häuser

Examples