auf DeutschNouns - Articles, Plural und Possessive Case
Important things to keep in mind when using nouns are which article to use and how to form the plural and how to form the possessive case.
Article
Direct article - the
example: the house
Indirect article a / an
a - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a consonant
example: a car, a university
an - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a vowel
example: an apple, an hour
Plural
general rule: singular form + s
example: a car - two cars
after s, ch, x, z the plural is formed by adding es
example: a box - two boxes
y after a consonant is changed to ie before the plural s
example: a city - two cities
But: y after a vowel is not changed
example: a boy - two boys
After o the plural is usually formed by adding es (this is not the case, however, with words used for electric gadgets and music: radio, video, disco)
example: a tomato - two tomatoes
Exercise - singular or plural?
Possessive Case of Nouns
| adding 's | of phrase |
|---|---|
| usually used for people | usually used for things |
| Ronny's brother | the name of the school |
If there is a relation to people when using the possessive case with unanimated things, often the s is added instead of using an of phrase.
example: Germany's economy or the ecomony of Germany
When using the possessive case with a time, s is added.
example: a three week's holiday
Exercise on the possessive case of nouns
Changed: 02nd Jun 2004 14:05
URL: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/nouns