A1Cases

German Nominative Case (Nominativ)

The nominative case is used for the subject of a sentence - the person or thing doing the action.

Key Rules

  • 1Used for the subject of the sentence
  • 2Articles: der (m), die (f), das (n), die (pl)
  • 3Answers the question: Wer? (Who?) or Was? (What?)
  • 4The nominative form is the basic dictionary form

Examples

Der Mann liest.

The man reads.

💡 'Der Mann' is the subject doing the reading.

Die Frau arbeitet.

The woman works.

Das Kind spielt.

The child plays.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Ich sehe der Mann.→✓ Ich sehe den Mann.

After 'sehen' (to see), use accusative (den), not nominative (der).

Related Grammar Topics

Cases
German Accusative Case (Akkusativ)
A1
Cases
German Dative Case (Dativ)
A2
Articles
German Articles (der, die, das)
A1

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