📖What is the Nominative Case?
The Nominative is the "Subject Case" in German. It answers the question: "Who or what is doing the action?"
In a sentence, the subject is always in the nominative case.
🎬 Visual Diagram: Sentence Structure
SUBJECT
Der Mann
📌 NOMINATIVE
→
→
OBJECT
ein Buch
Accusative
💡 Key Question: To find the nominative, ask: "Wer? (Who?)" or "Was? (What?)"
Example: "Der Mann liest ein Buch." → Wer liest? → Der Mann (Nominative!)
📝 Simple Examples
Die Frau singt.
The woman sings. (Who sings? → Die Frau)
Das Kind spielt.
The child plays. (Who plays? → Das Kind)
Der Hund schläft.
The dog sleeps. (Who sleeps? → Der Hund)
🧠 Memory Trick
"Nominative = Names the doer!"
The subject "nominates" itself as the one doing the action.
📋 When to Use Nominative
1. As the subject of a sentence:
• Der Lehrer erklärt die Grammatik. (The teacher explains the grammar.)
2. After the verb "sein" (to be):
• Das ist mein Bruder. (That is my brother.)
• Sie ist Ärztin. (She is a doctor.)
3. After "werden" and "bleiben":
• Er wird Ingenieur. (He is becoming an engineer.)
📘Articles in Nominative Case
In the nominative case, articles take their basic form. This is the form you learn first!
Remember the color system: der = Blue, das = Green, die = Red
📊 Definite Articles (the)
| Type |
Masculine ♂️ |
Neuter ⚪ |
Feminine ♀️ |
Plural |
| Nominative |
der 🔊 |
das 🔊 |
die 🔊 |
die 🔊 |
📊 Indefinite Articles (a/an)
| Type |
Masculine ♂️ |
Neuter ⚪ |
Feminine ♀️ |
Plural |
| Nominative |
ein 🔊 |
ein 🔊 |
eine 🔊 |
— (keine) |
📊 Negative Articles (no/not a)
| Type |
Masculine ♂️ |
Neuter ⚪ |
Feminine ♀️ |
Plural |
| Nominative |
kein 🔊 |
kein 🔊 |
keine 🔊 |
keine 🔊 |
📊 Example Sentences with Audio
der Tisch
the table (masculine)
Der Tisch ist groß.
The table is big.
🔊
das Buch
the book (neuter)
Das Buch ist interessant.
The book is interesting.
🔊
die Lampe
the lamp (feminine)
Die Lampe ist neu.
The lamp is new.
🔊
💡 Remember: Nominative articles are the "default" forms. When you learn new nouns, you're learning them in the nominative case!
👤Personal Pronouns in Nominative
Personal pronouns replace nouns and are always in the nominative case when they are the subject of a sentence.
👤 Singular Pronouns
du
you (informal)
Du bist nett.
You are nice.
🔊
sie
she
Sie ist schön.
She is beautiful.
🔊
👥 Plural Pronouns
wir
we
Wir sind Freunde.
We are friends.
🔊
ihr
you (plural informal)
Ihr seid willkommen.
You are welcome.
🔊
sie
they
Sie sind müde.
They are tired.
🔊
👔 Formal Pronoun
⚠️ Watch out!
• sie (lowercase) = she / they
• Sie (uppercase) = formal you
Context and capitalization help you distinguish them!
🧠 Memory Trick
"Ich, Du, Er/Sie/Es,
Wir, Ihr, Sie - that's the best!"
First letters: I-D-E, W-I-S (I-D-E-WISE!)
❓Question Words - Wer? Was?
In German, we use Wer? (Who?) and Was? (What?) to ask about the nominative (subject) of a sentence.
Use Wer? to ask about people.
Wer ist das? — Das ist Maria.
Who is that? — That is Maria.
🔊 Click to hear
Wer kommt heute? — Peter kommt.
Who is coming today? — Peter is coming.
🔊 Click to hear
Wer spricht Deutsch? — Ich spreche Deutsch.
Who speaks German? — I speak German.
🔊 Click to hear
Wer ist dein Lehrer?
Who is your teacher?
🔊 Click to hear
Use Was? to ask about things or ideas.
Was ist das? — Das ist ein Buch.
What is that? — That is a book.
🔊 Click to hear
Was passiert hier? — Nichts passiert.
What is happening here? — Nothing is happening.
🔊 Click to hear
Was ist dein Hobby?
What is your hobby?
🔊 Click to hear
Was macht Lärm? — Das Auto.
What is making noise? — The car.
🔊 Click to hear
💡 Finding the Subject:
• Wer? → Answer is a person (nominative)
• Was? → Answer is a thing (nominative)
Example: "Der Hund bellt." → Was bellt? / Wer bellt? → Der Hund
📝 More Question Words for Nominative
Welcher?
Which? (masculine)
Welcher Mann ist das?
Which man is that?
🔊
Welches?
Which? (neuter)
Welches Kind spielt dort?
Which child is playing there?
🔊
Welche?
Which? (feminine/plural)
Welche Frau singt?
Which woman is singing?
🔊
✏️Practice - Identify the Subject
Click "Show Subject" to reveal the nominative (subject) in each sentence. Click the sentence to hear it!