Nouns
Gender and number
In the German language, nouns have three grammatical genders: masculine (M), feminine (F), and neuter (N).
The following list contains all the nouns in the first part of our text. The definite article in front of the singular noun indicates the gender:
der (M), die (F), das (N)
In the plural (PL), all nouns have the same article (die). This means that there is no gender distinction in the plural.
This is why the article is never placed before a plural word in the list.
| girl | Mädchen | Mädchen [tooltip]girl[/tooltip] |
| dolls | Puppen | Puppen [tooltip]dolls[/tooltip] |
| dream | Träume | Träume [tooltip]dreams[/tooltip] |
| mountain village | Bergdorf | Bergdorf[tooltip] mountain village[/tooltip] |
| beach | Meeresstrand | Meeresstrand [tooltip]beach[/tooltip] |
| sea | Meer | Meer [tooltip]sea[/tooltip] |
| country | Land | Land [tooltip]country[/tooltip] |
| people | Leute | Leute [tooltip]people[/tooltip] |
| language | Sprache | Sprache [tooltip]language[/tooltip] |
| dreams | Träume | Träume[tooltip]dreams[/tooltip] |
| years | Jahre | Jahre [tooltip]years[/tooltip] |
| big ugly man | Riesenkerl | Riesenkerl [tooltip]big ugly man[/tooltip] |
| six-foot man | Zweimetermann | Zweimetermann [tooltip]six-foot man[/tooltip] |
| arms | Arme | Arme [tooltip]arms[/tooltip] |
| doll | Puppe | Puppe [tooltip]doll[/tooltip] |
| tiny creature | Würmchen | Würmchen [tooltip]tiny creature[/tooltip] |
| angel face | Engelsgesicht | Engelsgesicht [tooltip]angel face[/tooltip] |
| spasms | Krämpfe | Krämpfe [tooltip]spasms[/tooltip] |
| little body | Körperchen | Körperchen [tooltip]little body[/tooltip] |
| disease | Morbus | Morbus [tooltip]disease[/tooltip] |
| name | Name | Name [tooltip]name[/tooltip] |
| doctor | Arzt | Arzt[tooltip]doctor[/tooltip] |
| glory | Ruhm | Ruhm[tooltip]glory[/tooltip] |
| forms | Formen | Formen [tooltip]forms[/tooltip] |
| child | Kind | Kind[tooltip]child[/tooltip] |
Forming the plural
The second list contains the plural nouns of Pirandello's entire 600-word text.
The definite article of the plural nominative is die, whatever the noun's gender.
The first six nouns in the list belong to the first part (see the first list). The two words Fenster and Finger are found in the second part, while the last six nouns are found in the third and final part of the text.
Read and listen. Always remember to write down the words. We advise you to read out loud as you write.
| dolls | Puppen | Puppen[tooltip]dolls[/tooltip] |
| people | Leute | Leute[tooltip]people[/tooltip] |
| dreams | Träume | Träume[tooltip]dreams[/tooltip] |
| years | Jahre | Jahre[tooltip]years[/tooltip] |
| arms | Arme | Arme[tooltip]arms[/tooltip] |
| spasms | Krämpfe | Krämpfe[tooltip]spasms[/tooltip] |
| forms | Formen | Formen[tooltip]forms[/tooltip] |
| windows | Fenster | Fenster[tooltip]windows[/tooltip] |
| fingers | Finger | Finger[tooltip]fingers[/tooltip] |
| lips | Lippen | Lippen[tooltip]lips[/tooltip] |
| ghosts | Geister | Geister[tooltip]ghosts[/tooltip] |
| mountains | Berge | Berge[tooltip]mountains[/tooltip] |
In German there are five possible endings to form the plural.
Our excerpt gives examples of the first four plural endings, which are in fact the most commonly used to form the plural.
Umlauts are often added to the plural.
1. - ø
Fenster, Finger[tooltip]windows, fingers[/tooltip]
2. -n/-en
Puppen, Formen, Lippen[tooltip]dolls, forms, lips[/tooltip]
3. -e
Träume, Jahre, Berge[tooltip]dreams, years, mountains[/tooltip]
4. -er
Geister[tooltip]ghosts[/tooltip]
5. -s
There are no plural nouns ending in -s in the text of Pirandello.
The Nominative (NOM)
The nominative is the case of the subject and the nominal part of the nominal predicate.
The person, animal or object expressed in the nominative does the action described by the verb.
They answer questions introduced by interrogative pronouns: wer or was ('who' or 'what').
Was ist das Leben? Ein Hauch.
Was ist das Leben? Ein Hauch. [tooltip]How flimsy life is! A breath.[/tooltip]
Here is the list of nouns that take on the role of subject in the second part of the text.
The order follows the plot of the story. The article helps you to identify the gender, number and case of the noun.
| the room | das Zimmer | das Zimmer[tooltip]the room[/tooltip] |
| the two windows | die zwei Fenster | die zwei Fenster[tooltip]the two windows[/tooltip] |
| the mother | die Mutter | die Mutter[tooltip]the mother[/tooltip] |
| the child | das Kind | das Kind[tooltip]the child[/tooltip] |
| a breath | ein Hauch | ein Hauch[tooltip]a breath[/tooltip] |
| your husband | dein Mann | dein Mann[tooltip]your husband[/tooltip] |
| a giant | ein Riese | ein Riese[tooltip]a giant[/tooltip] |
| the certainty | die Gewissheit | die Gewissheit[tooltip]the certainty[/tooltip] |
Good to know!
There are two exercises after this lesson.