Nominativ

The subject of the sentence — whoever is doing the action.

Maskulin Feminin Neutrum Plural

Articles

Every German noun has a grammatical gender: maskulin (masculine), feminin (feminine), or neutrum (neuter). The article before the noun tells you the gender. Unlike English ("the"), German has three: der, die, das. There's no logic to which noun gets which gender — you must memorize the article with each noun.

Bestimmt = definite (the) · Unbestimmt = indefinite (a/an) · Negation = negative (no/not a)

	Maskulin	Feminin	Neutrum	Plural
Bestimmt	der Mann	die Frau	das Kind	die Kinder
Unbestimmt	ein Mann	eine Frau	ein Kind	— (no indefinite plural)
Negation	kein Mann	keine Frau	kein Kind	keine Kinder

With der / die / das

The subject of the sentence — the person or thing doing the action — always takes Nominativ. In these examples, the bold word is the subject.

Der Kaffee ist heiß.

The coffee is hot.

der Kaffee (maskulin) = coffee · heiß = hot. "Der" because Kaffee is maskulin and it's the subject (Nominativ).

Die Lehrerin spricht Deutsch.

The teacher (f) speaks German.

die Lehrerin (feminin) = female teacher · sprechen = to speak · spricht = she speaks. "Die" because Lehrerin is feminin and it's the subject.

Das Buch ist interessant.

The book is interesting.

das Buch (neutrum) = book · interessant = interesting. "Das" because Buch is neutrum and it's the subject.

Die Kinder spielen draußen.

The children are playing outside.

das Kind (neutrum) = child → die Kinder (plural) = children · spielen = to play · draußen = outside. Plural always uses "die" in Nominativ.

With ein / eine

ein is like English "a/an." It changes form for feminine (eine) but stays ein for both maskulin and neutrum. There is no plural form — you just drop the article: "Kinder spielen draußen" (children play outside).

Ein Mann trinkt Wasser.

A man is drinking water.

der Mann (maskulin) = man · trinken = to drink · das Wasser (neutrum) = water. "Ein" because Mann is maskulin — maskulin Nominativ indefinite = ein.

Eine Katze schläft auf dem Sofa.

A cat is sleeping on the sofa.

die Katze (feminin) = cat · schlafen = to sleep · das Sofa (neutrum) = sofa. "Eine" because Katze is feminin — feminin Nominativ indefinite = eine. "dem Sofa" = Dativ after "auf" (location).

Ein Auto steht vor dem Haus.

A car is standing in front of the house.

das Auto (neutrum) = car · stehen = to stand · das Haus (neutrum) = house. "Ein" because Auto is neutrum — neutrum Nominativ indefinite = ein. "dem Haus" = Dativ after "vor" (location).

With sein — both sides stay Nominativ

The verb sein (to be) is special: the noun on both sides stays in Nominativ. This is because "sein" doesn't describe an action — it describes identity. Think of it as an equals sign: "Er = der Lehrer."

The same rule applies to werden (to become) and bleiben (to stay/remain).

Ich bin ein Student.

I am a student.

der Student (maskulin) = student. "Ein" because Student is maskulin — and it stays Nominativ (not Akkusativ) because it comes after "sein" (to be). After sein, both sides are Nominativ.

Das ist eine gute Idee.

That is a good idea.

die Idee (feminin) = idea · gut = good. "Eine" because Idee is feminin — feminin Nominativ indefinite = eine. It stays Nominativ (not Akkusativ) because it comes after "sein."

Er ist der Lehrer.

He is the teacher.

der Lehrer (maskulin) = teacher. "Der" stays der (not den) because after "sein" both sides are Nominativ. Compare: die Lehrerin (feminin) = female teacher.

Meine Mutter ist Ärztin.

My mother is a doctor.

die Mutter (feminin) = mother · die Ärztin (feminin) = female doctor. When stating professions with sein, German drops the article entirely: not "eine Ärztin" but just "Ärztin."

Negation with kein / keine

kein means "no" or "not a." Use it to negate nouns with ein/eine or nouns without an article. It follows the same pattern as ein/eine: kein (maskulin/neutrum), keine (feminin/plural).

Don't confuse with nicht, which negates verbs and adjectives: "Das ist nicht gut" (That is not good).

Das ist kein Problem.

That is no problem.

das Problem (neutrum) = problem. "Kein" because Problem is neutrum — neutrum Nominativ negation = kein (same form as ein). After "sein," it stays Nominativ.

Das ist keine Frage.

That is not a question.

die Frage (feminin) = question. "Keine" because Frage is feminin — feminin Nominativ negation = keine (same form as eine). After "sein," it stays Nominativ.

Pronouns

German personal pronouns in Nominativ. Note that Sie (capitalized) is the formal "you" for strangers, professionals, and elders. du is informal, used with friends, family, and children. ihr is "you" when talking to a group informally.

Ich komme aus Indien.

I come from India.

kommen = to come · aus = from

Du lernst Deutsch.

You are learning German. (informal)

lernen = to learn · lernst = you learn (du-form adds -st)

Er heißt Max.

He is called Max. / His name is Max.

heißen = to be called. "Wie heißt du?" = What's your name?

Sie wohnt in Berlin.

She lives in Berlin.

wohnen = to live (somewhere) · in = in

Wir sprechen Englisch.

We speak English.

sprechen = to speak

How to spot Nominativ

Ask: Wer? (who?) or Was? (what?) does the action.
Also used after sein (to be), werden (to become), and bleiben (to stay) — both sides stay Nominativ.

Example: "Wer trinkt Kaffee?" → Der Mann trinkt Kaffee. (The man drinks coffee.) Der Mann is Nominativ because he's doing the drinking.