Adjectives are those words that describe nouns. With them, your statements become more meaningful. So, do not hesitate and start to incorporate them in your sentences.

In German, you can place an adjective on two positions in a sentences, either before a noun or after it. When you put an adjective after a noun, you do not have to decline the adjective but simply use it in the form you can find it in a dictionary.

 

Der Mann ist nett. (The man is nice.)

Die Frau ist nett. (The woman is nice.)

Das Kind ist nett. (The child is nice.)

Die Männer sind nett. (The men are nice.)

Die Frauen sind nett. (The women are nice.)

Die Kinder sind nett. (The children are nice.)

 

As you can see, no matter whether a noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, singular, or plural, when the adjective comes after the noun, there is no need to decline it. You simply use the basic form of the adjective.

In sentence constrictions like above, you only have to conjugate the verb “sein” (to be):

	Singular	Plural
1st person	ich bin – I am	wir sind – we are
2nd person	du bist – you are (informal)	ihr seid – you are (informal)
	Sie sind – you are (formal)	Sie sind – you are (formal)
3rd person	er/sie/es ist – he/she/it is	sie sind – they are

 

Exercise: Now it’s your turn to practice what you have just learned. Form “to be”-sentences with the following pieces of information.

1. der Topf (the pot) – leer (empty)

2. die Tasche (the bag) – vollgepackt (crammed)

3. das Taschentuch (tissue) – weiß (white)

4. die Teller (plates; plural) – schön (beautiful)

5. das Auto (car) – schnell (fast)

6. die Schuhe (shoes; plural) – klein (small)

7. das Buch (book) – schwer (heavy)

8. die Aufgaben (exercises; plural) – schwer/schwierig (difficult)

9. die Frau (woman) – hübsch (pretty)

10. die Musik (music) – laut (loud)

11. das Essen (food) – lecker (delicious)

12. der Junge (boy) – frech (cheeky)

13. das Mädchen (girl) – klug (smart)

14. die Suppe (soup) – scharf (hot)

15. die Geschicht (story) – traurig (sad)

 

 

Key:

1. Der Topf ist leer. – The pot is empty.

2. Die Tasche ist vollgepackt. – The bag is crammed.

3. Das Taschentuch ist weiß. – The tissue is white.

4. Die Teller sind schön. – The plates are beautiful.

5. Das Auto ist schnell. – The car is fast.

6. Die Schuhe sind klein. – The shoes are small.

7. Das Buch ist schwer. – The book is heavy.

8. Die Aufgaben sind schwer/schwierig. – The exercises are difficult.

9. Die Frau ist hübsch. – The woman is pretty.

10. Die Musik ist laut. – The music is loud.

11. Das Essen ist lecker. – The food is delicious.

12. Der Junge ist frech. – The boy is cheeky.

13. Das Mädchen ist klug. – The girl is smart.

14. Die Suppe ist scharf. – The soup is hot.

15. Die Geschichte ist traurig. – The story is sad.