Definite and Indefinite Articles

Definite Article

The definite article, the in English, is also very common in German. In German the definite article has different forms depending on the gender of the word it is associated with, whether the word is singular or plural, and the case (subject, object, etc). You don't need to memorize the different forms yet, just be aware that they exist. You'll get lots of practice with them throughout the course.

In the Nouns lesson you learned the subject forms of the definite article. In this lesson you'll also learn the direct object, indirect object, and possessive forms of the definite article as well.

The following table shows the forms of the German definite article.

Examples

Der Vater gibt dem Mann die Schlüssel.	The father gives the keys to the man.
Der Vater gibt der Frau den Kaffee.	The father gives the coffee to the woman.
Die Frau gibt dem Kind die Jacke.	The woman gives the child the Jacket.
Das Kind gibt der Mutter die Jacke.	The child gives the jacket to the mother.
Die Kinder geben den Frauen die Jacken.	The children give the jackets to the women.

Indefinite Article

The indefinite article, a and an in English, has different forms in German depending on the gender of the word it is associated with and the case (subject, object, etc). You don't need to worry about memorizing these yet, just be aware that they exist.

The following table shows the forms of the German indefinite article.

Examples

Ein Vater gibt einem Mann einen Schlüssel.	A father gives a key to a man.
Ein Vater gibt einer Frau einen Kaffee.	A father gives a coffee to a woman.
Eine Frau gibt einem Kind eine Jacke.	A woman gives a child a Jacket.
Ein Kind gibt einer Frau eine Jacke.	A child gives a jacket to a woman.
Der Mann hat einen Bruder und eine Schwester.	The man has a brother and a sister.
Das Kind hat eine Mutter.	The child has a mother.
Der Mann und die Frau haben ein Kind.	The man and the woman have a child.