Adjectives and Adverbs – A2 German Grammar Made Simple
What is declension – and why does it matter in German?
In German, declension means that a word changes its form depending on how it is used in the sentence. This happens with articles (der → den → dem), pronouns (ich → mich → mir), and adjectives (schön → schönen → schönem).
English doesn’t really have this system anymore, which is why it feels unfamiliar to many learners. But in German, declension is important – it tells us who is doing what to whom.
Example: Der kleine Hund sieht die schöne Katze. → The little dog sees the beautiful cat.
Here:
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der kleine Hund → masculine, subject, nominative
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die schöne Katze → feminine, object, accusative
The adjective klein becomes kleine, and schön becomes schöne – depending on the case and gender.
Without correct endings, your sentence sounds wrong or unclear. That’s why adjectives in German change their endings – it’s not decoration, it’s grammar.
What triggers these changes?
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The case (nominative, accusative, dative)
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The gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
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The number (singular or plural)
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The article type (definite, indefinite, none)
With definite articles (der, die, das – "the")
The article already shows the gender and case. The adjective endings are fairly regular.
Nominative: der schöne Mann die nette Frau das kleine Kind die alten Freunde (plural)
Accusative: den schönen Mann die nette Frau das kleine Kind die alten Freunde
Dative: dem schönen Mann der netten Frau dem kleinen Kind den alten Freunden
After der/die/das, adjectives usually take -e in singular nominative and -en elsewhere.
Tip: Learn the rhythm of German: der + -e, den/dem + -en. It helps lock the structure into memory.
With indefinite articles (ein, eine – "a/an")
The article ein does not always show the gender clearly. That’s why the adjective must carry the missing information.
Nominative: ein schöner Mann eine nette Frau ein kleines Kind keine alten Freunde
Accusative: einen schönen Mann eine nette Frau ein kleines Kind keine alten Freunde
Dative: einem schönen Mann einer netten Frau einem kleinen Kind keinen alten Freunden
Tip: When using ein/eine, the adjective endings often mirror those you’d see on der/die/das. Think of the adjective as “completing” the information.
With no article (Nullartikel)
Sometimes a noun has no article at all. This happens with things like professions, nationalities, or in headlines.
Nominative: schöner Mann nette Frau kleines Kind alte Freunde
Accusative: schönen Mann nette Frau kleines Kind alte Freunde
Dative: schönem Mann netter Frau kleinem Kind alten Freunden
Without any article, the adjective must show everything: gender, case, and number. These are the strongest endings.
Tip: You don’t need to produce these forms perfectly at A2 – but recognising them will help you understand authentic German texts.
Plural forms
Plural forms are actually easier than you might think. Once you have any kind of article (die, meine, keine), the adjective ending is always -en.
die alten Häuser, meine netten Freunde, keine schlechten Ideen, den alten Freunden (Dativ)
Only when there is no article do we see different endings: alte Bücher (Nom/Akk) alten Büchern (Dat)
Tip: Plural + article = always -en. No article = strong ending (-e or -en).
Adverbs in A2 German
An adverb is a word that gives more information about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. In German, adverbs are easy to use because they usually stay the same. No declension, no endings.
There are different types of adverbs:
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Adverbs of time (Wann?) heute, morgen, jetzt, bald, immer, nie Ich gehe morgen ins Kino.
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Adverbs of place (Wo? Wohin?) hier, dort, oben, unten, dahin, nach Hause Das Buch liegt dort.
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Adverbs of manner (Wie?) schnell, langsam, gern, zusammen, einfach Er spricht sehr schnell.
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Adverbs of frequency (Wie oft?) immer, oft, manchmal, selten, nie Ich trinke manchmal Kaffee.
Adverbs usually come after the verb or at the beginning of the sentence to set the focus.
Examples: Ich lerne gern Deutsch. Heute habe ich keine Zeit. Wir gehen zusammen ins Restaurant.
Tip: Many adjectives can be used as adverbs just by keeping them unchanged: schnell → Er rennt schnell. langsam → Sie spricht langsam.
Learn common adverbs as phrases with verbs: zu Hause bleiben, gern machen, oft sehen, immer fragen
Summary – what to remember
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adjective endings change depending on gender, case, and article
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use -e with "der" in nominative singular
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use -en in accusative masculine and almost all dative cases
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after ein/eine, the adjective helps clarify the meaning
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with no article, endings are strongest (-er, -es, -em, etc.)
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plural with article = always -en
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learn phrases like "ein schöner Tag" or "mit einer netten Kollegin"
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adverbs do not change, they are easy to use
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learn them with verbs to build fluency