German Plural Forms

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German Plural Forms- (revised 4-13-09) German and English actually have many similarities in the plural. As in English, some German nouns form the plural with no change; others form it with variation in the ending; still other nouns form the plural with a change in stem vowel. Many nouns of foreign origin form the plural with –s, as in the original language. Take a look at the following basic plural forms: German uses five endings to mark the plural of nouns: 2) - e 3) - er 4) - (e)n 5) - s Some nouns of the first three types add an umlaut in the plural. There is a gender distinction for German nouns in the singular (der, die, das) but there is no gender distinction in the plural. All plural nouns (in the nominative and accusative) take the definite article "die". The indefinite article "ein" has no plural form but other "ein"-words like "kein" do (keine). Possessive adjectives (like "mein, dein," etc.) are also ein-words and form the plural accordingly ("meine, deine," etc.). NOTE: When learning a new noun, always memorize the plural form as well. There is no sure way to predict the plural form but these rules will help you to make an educated guess. Examples: Type 2a (-e): der Abend, der Monat, das Geräusch, das Telefon Type 2b (-e + umlaut): der Fuß (die Füße), der Stuhl, der Sohn, die Wand, die Hand Type 4b (-en): der Professor (die Professoren), die Tür, die Uhr, das Bett. Type 4c (–nen): nouns derived from masculine forms. Their singular forms end in -in: die Studentin (die Studentinnen), die Amerikanerin, die Professorin. These nouns are always feminine. -n: N-nouns are a group of masculine nouns that take -n or -en in all cases but the nominative singular e.g.: der Student -en, (den Studenten, dem Studenten, die Studenten), der Mensch-en, -en, der Junge-n,-n, der

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