declension following der, etc. also sometimes called the ‘weak declension’: the
pattern of adjective endings before a noun when there is a preceding der/die/das or
demonstrative*: der alte Hut ‘the old hat’, das neue Gebäude ‘the new building’, in
jener teuren Wohnung ‘in that expensive flat’. See also declension following ein, etc.*
and zero declension*.declension following ein, etc. also sometimes called the ‘mixed declension’: the
pattern of adjective endings before a noun when there is a preceding ein/eine/ein,
kein/keine/kein or possessive adjective (see adjective*): ein alter Freund ‘an old
friend’, kein gutes Zeichen ‘not a good sign’, meine jungere Schwester ‘my little
sister’. See also declension following der, etc.* and zero declension*.definite article the German equivalent of the word ‘the’ (i.e. der, die or das). See also
determiner*.demonstrative a word indicating which noun* is being referred to, usually in relation
to another noun: diese Frau ‘this woman’, jener Mann ‘that man’, jedes Haus ‘every
house’ (see also determiner*).determiner a word preceding a noun* that indicates which noun is being referred
to, how many of the nouns there are, or to whom the noun belongs. Determiners
include definite articles* (der, die, das ‘the’), indefinite articles* (ein ‘a’, kein ‘not
a’), demonstratives* (dieser ‘this’, jener ‘that’), indefinites* (mancher ‘some’,
viele ‘many’), and possessive adjectives (mein ‘my’, unser ‘our’ – see adjective*).direct object: see accusative object*.direct speech the exact representation of someone’s actual words, usually in speech
marks. „Ruf mich doch morgen an,” sagte er. ‘ “Give me a ring tomorrow,” he said’.
See also reported speech*.finite verb the one verb* in a clause* which has a subject* and can be either singular
or plural, in the present or past tense, in contrast to participles* and infinitives*,
which are the non-finite parts of the verb: Wir sind nach Paris geflogen ‘We flew
to Paris’. Schwimmst du noch am Wochenende? ‘Do you still go swimming at the
weekend?’gender a means of classifying nouns* grammatically through the different forms
of the determiners* which precede them: Der Mann/das Haus. Dieser Mann/diese
Frau. In keinem Dorf/in keiner Stadt. German has three genders – masculine,
feminine and neuter. In most cases grammatical gender is not based on natural
gender.imperative mood the form of the verb* used to express commands: Bring mir das
Buch ‘Bring me the book’. Gehen Sie nach Hause! ‘Go home!’ Kommt mal her,
Kinder ‘Come here, children’. See also indicative mood* and subjunctive mood*.indefinite article the German equivalent of the word ‘a/an’ (i.e. ein, eine, ein). See also
determiner*.xv
Glossary