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Gender of Nouns

Gender of Nouns. Deutsch 2. Nouns. All German nouns are capitalized. All German nouns have a grammatical gender. The noun is either masculine, feminine, or neuter. The definite article der (the) accompanies a masculine noun, die accompanies a feminine noun, and das a neuter noun.

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Gender of Nouns

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  1. Gender of Nouns Deutsch 2

  2. Nouns • All German nouns are capitalized. • All German nouns have a grammatical gender. • The noun is either masculine, feminine, or neuter. • The definite article der(the) accompanies a masculine noun, dieaccompanies a feminine noun, and dasa neuter noun.

  3. Noun Groups

  4. General rules • Nouns that refer specifically to male beings, such as father, uncle, etc., are usually masculine. • Nouns that refer to female beings, such as mother, daughter, etc., are usually feminine. • Nouns referring to young people and young animals are usually neuter. All diminuativesending in –chen and –leinare neuter. • das Mädchen das Kind • das Fräulein das Kalb • das Kätzchen das Küken • HOWEVER, nouns referring to things are NOT always neuter but can have a masculine or feminine gender. For this reason the gender of each noun should be memorized.

  5. Masculine nouns - groups • Names of ALL calendar days • Names of ALL calendar months • Names of ALL seasons • Names of ALL cardinal directions • der Süden • der Norden • der Westen • der Osten

  6. Feminine nouns - groups • Names of MOST trees • die Tanne • die Eiche • Names of MOST fruits • die Banane • die Pflaume • EXCEPTION: der Apfel • Names of MOST flowers • die Orchidee • die Lilie

  7. Neuter noun - Groups • Names of MOST cities • das historischeMünchen • das übervölkerteHongkong • Names of MOST countries • das neutraleSchweden • das moderne Deutschland NOTE: The neuter article for MOST cities and countries is used only if the noun is modified. Without a modifier, one simply uses München, Berlin, Italien, etc.

  8. Exceptions • Femininecountries: • die Schweiz • die Türkei • die TschechischeRepublik • Masculine countries: • der Iran • der Irak • Countries that are ONLY used in the plural. • die Niederlande • die VereinigtenStaaten NOTE: These exceptions are ALWAYS used with their articles, whether they are modified or not. “Wir besuchen die Schweiz.”

  9. Neuter noun - Groups • Names of MOST metals and chemical elements • das Gold • das Kupfer • das Helium • EXCEPTION: der Stahl

  10. Noun endings

  11. Masculine Word endings • Nouns ending in –el, -en, -er, -ig, -ich, and –ling are USUALLY masculine. • der Schlüssel der Zucker • der Löffel der Honig • der Wagen der Pfennig • der Boden der Teppich • der Teller der Lehrling • EXCEPTIONS: • die Butter das Messer das Wetter die Gabel • die Mutter das Zimmer das Leder • die Tochter das Fenster das Kissen

  12. feminine word endings • Nouns ending in –age, -ei, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ie, -ik, -in, -ion, -tät, -ung, -urare ALMOST ALWAYS feminine. Nouns ending in –e are USUALLY feminine. • die Courage die Musik • die Liebe die Fabrik • die Politik die Köchin • die Krankheit die Nation • die Schönheitdie Universität • die Freundlichkeit die Wohnung • die Freundschaft die Rechnung • die Melodie die Diktatur • die Familie die Literatur

  13. Neuter word endings • Nouns ending in –tum, -ment, -ium, -um are USUALLY neuter. • das Christentum • das Instrument • das Gymnasium • das Museum • das Datum • Infinitives used as nouns are ALWAYS neuter. • das Hören • das Sehen

  14. nouns with different meanings • The following pairs of words have different meanings for masculine feminine and neuter forms. • der Golf gulf das Golf golf • der Jungeboy das Jungeyoung animal • der Leiterleader, manager die Leiterladder • der See lake (inland) die See sea (ocean) • der Tor fool das Tor gate, goal (in soccer)

  15. compound nouns • Compound nouns are formed by combining two or more nouns. The gender of the compound noun matches the gender of the last noun. • der Motor, das Boot das Motorboot • der Zahn, die Bürste die Zahnbürste • das Wasser, die Farbe die Wasserfarbe • die Tannen (pl), der Baum der Tannenbaum • die Kranken (pl), der Wagen der Krankenwagen • die Tage (pl), das Buch das Tagebuch

  16. more compound nouns • Some compound nouns are formed by two singular nouns connected by an –s. • der Staat, das Examen das Staatsexmen • der Sport, der Mann der Sportsmann • der Geburtstag, der Kuchen der Geburtstagskuchen • das Mitglied, die Karte die Mitgliedskarte • der Liebling, die Melodie die Lieblingsmelodie • die Universität, der Professor der Universitätsprofessor

  17. Nouns used only in the singular • die Liebedie Musik • der Schmuck das Leder • das Viehder Wein • die Milch das Fleisch • die Butter der Honig • das Gold

  18. Plural Nouns • No gender is given to plural nouns. • ALL plural nouns have the same definite and indefinite articles. • Unlike English plural nouns, in German, nouns rarely form their plural forms by adding –s. • More about plural nouns later.

  19. Resources • Gschossmann-Hendershot, E.F. (). Schaum’s Outline of German Grammar : Second Edition.

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