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I'm familiar with the basics: case, gender, declensions, etc.

The above sentence refers to one of two males, if that helps.

My understanding (might be wrong): - "One of them laughed" so "One" is the subject, i.e. Nominative. "Ein von ihnen" just sounds wrong to my ears, but I don't know why.

Isn't the nominative of male nouns simply "ein"?

Thanks ahead.

Paulo

Update: Thanks to Hubert. It seems I was not as familiar with the basics as I thought. Here is some info on indefinite article declension (which I just went and read up on myself) for anyone else seeking it: https://deutsch.lingolia.com/en/grammar/pronouns/indefinite-pronouns

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  • No, the nominative of a male noun is whatever the reading of that noun is. ein is the nominative singular of the indefinite article. Here, einer is neither a noun nor an article. It's an indefinite pronoun, like "some" or "many".
    – Kilian Foth
    Feb 12, 2018 at 8:18

2 Answers 2

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This is neither an article nor a numeral, it is an indefinite pronoun:

  • masculine (men, spoons)

    Vor der Tür standen zwei Männer. Einer von ihnen lachte.
    Two men were standing in front of the door. One of them laughed.

    In der Lade lagen zwei Löffel. Einer von ihnen war aus Holz.
    There were two spoons in the drawer. One of them was made of wood.

  • feminine (women, forks)

    Vor der Tür standen zwei Frauen. Eine von ihnen lachte.
    Two women were standing in front of the door. One of them laughed.

    In der Lade lagen zwei Gabeln. Eine von ihnen war aus Holz.
    There were two forks in the drawer. One of them was made of wood.

  • neuter (children, knives)

    Vor der Tür standen zwei Kinder. Eines von ihnen lachte.
    Two children were standing in front of the door. One of them laughed.

    In der Lade lagen zwei Messer. Eines von ihnen war aus Holz.
    There were two knives in the drawer. One of them was made of wood.

This is different from the usage as numeral or article:

  • masculine

    Ein Mann lachte. = One man laughed.
    Ein Löffel liegt in der Lade. = There is one spoon in the drawer.

  • feminine

    Eine Frau lachte. = One woman laughed.
    Eine Gabel liegt in der Lade. = There is one fork in the drawer.

  • neuter

    Ein Kind lachte. = One child laughed.
    Ein Messer liegt in der Lade. = There is one knife in the drawer.

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  • Besser wäre ein Beispiel mit "Eine von ihnen (zwei Personen) lachte", und "Eines von ihnen (den Mitgliedern) lachte", um nicht den falschen Eindruck zu verstärken dass es auf das Geschlecht der Person statt des Wortes ankäme.
    – user unknown
    Feb 11, 2018 at 14:19
  • Übrigens, Lade ist in meinen Teil unseres Sprachraums ungewöhnlich, hier heißt das Schublade Ich wurde (dunkel, ich musste googeln) an die Bundeslade erinner.
    – Carsten S
    Feb 12, 2018 at 9:58
  • @CarstenS: Ich verstehe bis heute nicht, warum dieser biblische Transportbehälter Bundeslade heißt, wenn er doch in Wahrheit eine Truhe ist.
    – Hubert Schölnast
    Feb 12, 2018 at 11:32
  • @HubertSchölnast. weil das die (veraltende) Bedeutung von Lade ist, weshalb. Deshalb spezifizieren ja einige genauer, wenn sie von Schubladen reden. (Natürlich benutzen die meisten davon nie tatsächlich das Wort Lade.)
    – Carsten S
    Feb 12, 2018 at 11:39
  • Ich sollte meine Kommentare gewissenhafter zur Korrektur lesen.
    – Carsten S
    Feb 12, 2018 at 13:16
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I would call it the "der" form of "Ein."

If it were a noun modifier, the sentence might be Ein Mann lachte."

But it's a "standalone" (masculine) pronoun, with "von ihnen" as a modifier. That's why it needs to take the "er" form, which is "Einer."

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