Nominativ (Nominative Case)
German has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. The case shows the role a noun plays in the sentence, and it is marked mainly on the article. The nominative is the basic form, the one found in a dictionary: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Buch.
What the nominative is used for
The nominative is used for:
- the subject of the sentence: the person or thing that does the action, or that the sentence is about;
- the noun after sein (to be), werden (to become) and bleiben (to stay), because it describes the subject.
Articles in the nominative
| Article | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definite | der | die | das | die |
| Indefinite | ein | eine | ein | – |
| Negative | kein | keine | kein | keine |
| Possessive (my) | mein | meine | mein | meine |
Das Buch kostet drei Euro.The book costs three euros.
Die Kinder spielen im Garten.The children are playing in the garden.
Kinder spielen im Garten.Children are playing in the garden.
Eine Katze trinkt Milch.A cat is drinking milk.
Mein Bruder kann Gitarre spielen.My brother can play the guitar.
The page on articles explains der, die, das and ein, eine in more detail. The pronouns ich, du, er, sie, es … are also nominative forms; see personal pronouns.
Finding the subject
Ask Wer? (who) for a person or Was? (what) for a thing: who or what does the action, or what is the sentence about? The answer is the subject, and the verb agrees with it. Was can also ask about the object (Was kaufst du?), so for things the verb ending and the article are the safer clues.
Wer hat meine Tasche genommen? – Der Lehrer hat sie genommen.Who took my bag? – The teacher took it.
Was hängt an der Wand? – Ein Bild hängt an der Wand.What is hanging on the wall? – A picture is hanging on the wall.
In English the subject is recognised by its position before the verb. In German it is recognised by its case, so it does not have to come first. When another element starts the sentence, the subject follows the verb:
Heute kocht mein Vater.Today my father is cooking.
Den Kuchen hat meine Schwester gebacken.It was my sister who baked the cake.
The case decides, not the position
Den Hund beißt der Mann means The man bites the dog. der Mann is nominative, so the man is the subject, even though it comes after the verb; den Hund is accusative, so the dog is the object. Only masculine articles show this difference. With feminine, neuter and plural nouns the nominative and accusative look the same, so the subject normally comes first: Die Katze sieht das Kind. (The cat sees the child.)
After sein, werden and bleiben
These verbs do not take an object. The noun after them refers to the same person or thing as the subject, so it is also in the nominative.
Herr Klein ist der neue Lehrer.Mr Klein is the new teacher.
Mein Bruder wird Arzt.My brother is going to be a doctor.
Das wird ein Problem.That's going to be a problem.
Er bleibt mein Freund.He remains my friend.
Common mistake
Das ist einen Hund. is wrong; correct: Das ist ein Hund.
sein does not take an object, so the noun after it stays in the nominative; einen is only the masculine accusative. Pronouns work the same way: English says It's me or That's him, but German says Das bin ich and Das ist er.
Common mistake
Mein Bruder bekommt Arzt. is wrong; correct: Mein Bruder wird Arzt.
bekommen looks like become but means get or receive, and it takes an accusative object: Er bekommt einen Brief. (He gets a letter.) For become, German uses werden, followed by the nominative.
Check yourself
Written by: Fatih Ün, German teacher · Last updated: