{"id":11419,"date":"2020-01-28T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T06:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11419"},"modified":"2020-01-27T16:55:06","modified_gmt":"2020-01-27T16:55:06","slug":"3-tips-for-remembering-german-plurals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/3-tips-for-remembering-german-plurals\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Tips For Remembering German Plurals"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of rules in German for forming plurals. In English it is a bit easier, as we mostly just add an “s” onto the end of the word (of course there are still some exceptions). The other day when I was teaching a fitness class, I realized I didn’t know what the plural of “der Hals<\/strong>” (the neck) was and one of my participants told me a great Eselsbr\u00fccke<\/strong> (mnemonic) to remember it! This inspired me to write this post for you.<\/p>\n

Tip 1: Use Eselsbr\u00fccken<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Eselsbr\u00fccken<\/strong> (literally translates to: donkey bridges) are mnemonics to help you remember certain things. Here is the one that I got told, for the plural of “the neck”:<\/p>\n

Die Gans hat einen Hals, die G\u00e4nse haben H\u00e4lse.<\/p>\n

Translates to: the goose has a neck, the geese have necks.<\/p>\n

Here you not only remember one plural word, but two: “die G\u00e4nse<\/strong>” and “die H\u00e4lse<\/strong>“. Here<\/a> is another post on Eselsbr\u00fccken<\/strong> if you want to learn more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tip 2: When plural, all genders turn to “die<\/strong>” in the nominative and accusative case<\/em><\/p>\n

For example:
\nder<\/strong> Mann\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 die<\/strong> M\u00e4nner
\n(the man)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (the men)
\ndas<\/strong> Brot\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 die<\/strong> Brote
\n(the bread)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(the bread – plural)
\nder<\/strong> Stuhl\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0die<\/strong> St\u00fchle
\n(the chair)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (the chairs)
\ndie<\/strong> Pflanze\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 die<\/strong> Pflanzen (note that “die<\/strong>” stays the same)
\n(the plant)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(the plants)<\/p>\n

Tip 3: Most feminine nouns end with -n<\/strong>, -en<\/strong> or -nen<\/strong> when plural<\/em><\/p>\n

For example:
\ndie Frau\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0die Frauen<\/strong>
\n(the woman)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (the women)
\ndie Toilette\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0die Toiletten<\/strong>
\n(the toilet)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (the toilets)
\ndie Katze\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 die Katzen<\/strong>
\n(the cat)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (the cats)
\ndie B\u00e4ckerin\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0die B\u00e4ckerinnen<\/strong>
\n(the female baker)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(the female bakers)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope these three easy tips were helpful. I will write another post on plurals with some more tips, regarding the masculine and neutral nouns soon.<\/p>\n

Thank you for reading,<\/p>\n

Larissa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

There are a lot of rules in German for forming plurals. In English it is a bit easier, as we mostly just add an “s” onto the end of the word (of course there are still some exceptions). The other day when I was teaching a fitness class, I realized I didn’t know what the…<\/p>\n

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