The German Nominative Case
Find the subject in any German sentence, use the right nominative article, and handle sentences with sein and werden.
The nominative is the case of the subject: the person or thing doing the action. It's also the dictionary form, so you already know it: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Buch.
Because German word order is flexible, the nominative article is often your best clue to who is doing what.
The nominative is the subject
Ask Wer? (who?) or Was? (what?) plus the verb. The answer is the subject, and it's in the nominative.
Der Zug kommt um acht.
The train arrives at eight.
Meine Schwester arbeitet in Köln.
My sister works in Cologne.
Nominative forms
These are the basic forms you learn with every noun. There is no plural of ein; the plural simply has no article.
Definite article
- Masculineder
- Femininedie
- Neuterdas
- Pluraldie
Indefinite article
- Masculineein
- Feminineeine
- Neuterein
kein and mein
- Masculinekein / mein
- Femininekeine / meine
- Neuterkein / mein
- Pluralkeine / meine
Personal pronouns
- Iich
- you (informal)du
- he / she / iter / sie / es
- wewir
- you (plural)ihr
- they / you (formal)sie / Sie
After sein, werden and bleiben
These verbs don't take an object. They link two nominatives that name the same person or thing.
Mein Vater ist ein guter Koch.
My father is a good cook.
Er bleibt mein bester Freund.
He's still my best friend.
The subject doesn't have to come first
Only the verb has a fixed place (position two). If something else starts the sentence, the subject moves right after the verb.
Heute kocht der Vater.
Today Dad is cooking.
Den Kuchen hat der Opa gebacken.
Grandpa baked the cake.
Common mistakes
✗
Das ist einen guten Film.✓ Das ist ein guter Film.
After sein, use the nominative, not the accusative.
✗
Den Mann ist sehr nett.✓ Der Mann ist sehr nett.
The subject is always in the nominative.
✗
Heute der Chef kommt spät.✓ Heute kommt der Chef spät.
The verb stays second; the subject follows it.
Questions learners ask
How do I find the nominative in a sentence?
Ask Wer? or Was? with the verb, for example 'Who is cooking?'. The answer is the subject, which is always nominative.
Is the nominative the same as the dictionary form?
Yes. Dictionaries list nouns in the nominative singular, usually with der, die or das.
Why is it 'Es gibt einen Park', not 'ein Park'?
In es gibt, the word es is the subject. The thing that exists is the object, so it goes into the accusative.