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Nominativ - Das Subjekt
The nominative case is the most basic case in German. It's used for the subject of a sentence - the person or thing doing the action. If you can ask 'Who?' or 'What?' and get the answer from the sentence, that's your subject in nominative case.
In German, nouns change their articles depending on their role in the sentence. The nominative case uses the articles you already know:
der - masculine nominative die - feminine nominative das - neuter nominative die - plural nominative (for all genders!)
The nominative case answers the questions: Wer? (Who?) or Was? (What?)
Example: Der Mann trinkt Kaffee. (The man drinks coffee.) Wer trinkt Kaffee? → Der Mann (nominative)
The subject (who/what does the action) is always in nominative case. It's the 'doer' of the sentence.
Examples:
After the verb 'sein' (to be), you also use nominative case. Both before AND after 'ist' are nominative.
Examples:
In nominative case (and most other cases), the plural article is 'die' regardless of the noun's gender in singular.
Examples:
Use 'Wer?' for people and 'Was?' for things to identify the nominative subject.
Examples:
🇩🇪 Der Lehrer erklärt die Grammatik.
🇬🇧 The teacher explains the grammar.
💡 'Der Lehrer' is nominative - the subject doing the explaining
Context: Wer erklärt die Grammatik? → Der Lehrer
🇩🇪 Die Studentin lernt Deutsch.
🇬🇧 The female student learns German.
💡 'Die Studentin' is nominative - she's doing the learning
Context: Wer lernt Deutsch? → Die Studentin
🇩🇪 Das Auto ist neu.
🇬🇧 The car is new.
💡 'Das Auto' is nominative - with 'sein' verb, both sides are nominative
Context: Was ist neu? → Das Auto
🇩🇪 Die Kinder spielen im Park.
🇬🇧 The children play in the park.
💡 'Die Kinder' is plural nominative - they're doing the playing
Context: Wer spielt im Park? → Die Kinder
🇩🇪 Der Kaffee schmeckt gut.
🇬🇧 The coffee tastes good.
💡 'Der Kaffee' is nominative - the subject doing the tasting/being tasty
Context: Was schmeckt gut? → Der Kaffee
🇩🇪 Die Bücher sind teuer.
🇬🇧 The books are expensive.
💡 'Die Bücher' is plural nominative - all plurals use 'die'
Context: Was ist teuer? → Die Bücher
If you can answer 'Wer?' (who?) or 'Was?' (what?) from the sentence, that answer is in nominative case. This is your shortcut!
The nominative case uses the same articles as in the dictionary. When you learn 'der Mann', that's nominative!
The subject gets the 'name tag' - it's who or what we're talking about. Der Mann (nominative) trinkt Kaffee.
Easy rule: ALL plurals in nominative use 'die'. Der Mann → die Männer, das Kind → die Kinder, die Frau → die Frauen.
Das ist der Mann. Both 'das' and 'der Mann' are nominative. Think of '=' sign - both sides equal!
Confusing subject with object
The subject DOES the action (nominative). The object RECEIVES the action (accusative - we'll learn later). Der Mann (subject) trinkt den Kaffee (object).
Using wrong article after 'sein'
After 'ist', use nominative! 'Das ist der Lehrer' (correct), not 'Das ist den Lehrer' (wrong). Both parts stay nominative.
Forgetting plural 'die'
All plurals use 'die' in nominative, regardless of singular gender. Die Männer (not 'der Männer'), die Kinder (not 'das Kinder').
Overthinking simple sentences
In basic sentences, the first noun is usually nominative. 'Der Hund bellt' - der Hund is automatically the subject. Start simple!
Der Arzt hilft dem Patienten.
The doctor helps the patient.
📚 der Arzt (nominative subject - who helps?) + hilft (helps) + dem Patienten (dative object - whom?)
Die Lehrerin ist sehr nett.
The (female) teacher is very nice.
📚 die Lehrerin (nominative) + ist (is - sein verb) + sehr nett (very nice)
Das Haus ist groß und schön.
The house is big and beautiful.
📚 das Haus (nominative) + ist (is) + groß und schön (big and beautiful)
Die Studenten lernen Grammatik.
The students learn grammar.
📚 die Studenten (plural nominative - who learns?) + lernen (learn) + Grammatik
Der Zug kommt um drei Uhr.
The train comes at three o'clock.
📚 der Zug (nominative subject - what comes?) + kommt (comes) + um drei Uhr (at 3 o'clock)
Die Katzen sind süß.
The cats are cute.
📚 die Katzen (plural nominative - all plurals use 'die') + sind (are) + süß (cute)