The building blocks: word types
FoundationsfreeGrammar is the rulebook for how words change their form and combine into sentences. To learn those rules you need names for the kinds of words — because each kind follows its own rules. This lesson defines every word type from zero.
Nouns — things and beings
A noun is a word for a person, a thing, a place, or an idea: *dog, Anna, Berlin, freedom*. Recognition trick in German: nouns are always capitalized, even mid-sentence. This is a particularly distinctive feature of German — it helps you spot nouns instantly.
Verbs — actions and states
A verb says what someone does or what happens: *to sleep, to go, to be, to have*. Verbs are the only word type that changes with time (today/yesterday) and with who acts (I/you/he). The base form (the dictionary form) is called the infinitive and almost always ends in -en: gehen (to go), machen (to do/make), schlafen (to sleep).
Adjectives — qualities
An adjective describes a noun: *small, red, expensive, interesting*. In German the adjective takes different endings depending on where it stands — one of the most important topics of this course (unit “Adjective endings”).
Articles — the little words before a noun
An article is a companion word before a noun. English has two: *the* (definite — a known thing) and *a* (indefinite — some thing). German has the same idea, but its articles change form: der, die, das, den, dem, des (definite) and ein, eine, einen, einem… (indefinite). Why so many forms? In German the article carries information about the noun's gender and case — you'll learn both in the next units.
Pronouns — stand-ins
A pronoun replaces a noun so you don't repeat it: *he, she, it, I, you, my, himself*. Instead of “Anna sleeps because Anna is tired” you say “Anna sleeps because she is tired”.
Prepositions — relation words
A preposition describes a relation — usually place, time or manner: *in, on, with, after, without, for*. It stands before a noun or pronoun: “mit dem Hund” (with the dog), “in Berlin”. Crucial for German: every preposition forces a specific case on the noun that follows — there's a whole unit on this.
Connectors — sentence joiners
A connector (conjunction) joins sentences or parts of them: *and, but, because, that, if, although*. In German the connector decides where the verb goes — after *weil* (because) it moves to the end of the sentence. This too gets its own unit.
Adverbs — the rest
An adverb describes *how, when, where* something happens: *today, here, gladly, very, unfortunately*. Good news: adverbs never change form. A word like *heute* (today) always looks the same — no endings to learn.
| Word type | Answers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Who? What? | Hund, Stadt, Idee |
| Verb | What is done/happens? | gehen, sein, haben |
| Adjective | What is it like? | klein, rot, teuer |
| Article | noun companion | der, die, das, ein |
| Pronoun | noun stand-in | er, sie, mein, sich |
| Preposition | Where? With what? When? | in, mit, für, nach |
| Connector | joins sentences | und, weil, dass, aber |
| Adverb | How? When? Where? | heute, hier, sehr |
In the C-test every second word is half deleted. Step one at every gap: recognize which word type is missing. “mi__ de__ Hund” — after *mit* (a preposition) comes an article: *dem*. If you can identify word types, you never guess blindly.
In “Der alte Mann liest heute eine Zeitung” (The old man reads a newspaper today) — what word type is “alte”?
Which word is a noun? “sie kauft brot im laden” (capitalization removed!)
Which word type NEVER changes its form?
“Wir warten auf den Bus.” (We are waiting for the bus.) — What word type is “auf”?
“Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil es regnet.” (I’m staying home because it’s raining.) — What word type is “weil”?
“Die Lehrerin ist krank. Sie bleibt heute zu Hause.” (The teacher is ill. She is staying home today.) — What word type is “Sie”?
“Das Wetter ist heute schön.” (The weather is nice today.) — What word type is “schön”?
Which word is the verb? “Die Studierenden lernen täglich.” (The students study every day.)
“Der Hund schläft oft im Garten.” (The dog often sleeps in the garden.) — What word type is “oft”?
Which word is the article? “Eine Frau kauft Brot.” (A woman is buying bread.)