Questions tagged [definite-articles]
relating to a determiner (der, die, das, des, dem, or den) that introduces a noun phrase and implies that the thing mentioned has already been mentioned, or is common knowledge, or is about to be defined.
65
questions
0
votes
2answers
104 views
When is the masculine “der” the English “of”?
I have seen that in German, sometimes the definite masculine article "der" is used as the English word "of". For example in the film "Das Leben der Anderen". I understand ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
Using definite article instead of pronouns [duplicate]
I've tried searching for this, as I know it's quite a simple question, but I'm probably not using the correct terms.
I'm relatively new in learning German, and I often see things like the following:
&...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
When are parts of the body personal, and when not?
I read the following in a description a patient's visit to the doctor.
Der Arzt schaut in ihre Augen, ihren Mund, und in die Ohren.
Why die Ohren but ihre Augen?
1
vote
2answers
147 views
Articles with names in “Heidi”, Spyri's regional accent (Followup to previous questions linked in body)
In chapter 1 of "Heidi", Dete and her old acquaintance Barbel are leading Heidi up the mountain to meet her grandfather. The author, Johanna Spyri, starts talking about die Dete and die ...
3
votes
2answers
177 views
An die Freude - why “die”?
In his poem "Ode an die Freude", why did Schiller use the definite article? Why not just "an Freude"?
asked Mar 30 '20 at 7:59
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-1
votes
2answers
271 views
Why does German use definite articles before nouns whereas in English, there wouldn't be?
I've noticed from titles of songs and poems, a definite article is used such as:
'An die Hoffnung'
'An die Freude'
'An die Musik'
A few websites give examples of the use of definite ...
-1
votes
2answers
64 views
The inflection of “dies-” when “dies-” is used after “all-” (2 adjective; alle diese Bestrebungen…)
I have learnd the inflection of "all-".
It is a kind of definite article(I'm not meaning that it is a definite article), so its inflection as adjective is..
m. n. f. pl.
er es e e
es es er er
em ...
5
votes
2answers
929 views
Steht vor einem Firmennamen ein Artikel, wenn die Rechtsform weggelassen wird?
Beispiel
Nehmen wir an, die Firma heißt Buntstifte KG, aber in diesen Sätzen wurde ihre Rechtsform weggelassen. Sollte jetzt vor dem Firmennamen ein Artikel stehen?
Buntstifte ist eines der ...
3
votes
1answer
104 views
jmdn. ärgern in a sentence
I've recently seen the sentence with the verb ärgern while learning relative clauses with wer and was. The sentence is as follows:
Manche kommen spät zur Arbeit, was der Chef sehr ärgert.
As you ...
8
votes
2answers
709 views
Schweiz oder die Schweiz?
A recent Slow German Podcast has the following sentence:
Vor allem in Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein.
I thought that some countries, including Switzerland, always include an ...
4
votes
2answers
166 views
Akkusativ oder Nominativ und Formulierung bei einer Bestellung
Als ich in einem Hotel war, hat mich die Kellnerin gefragt, ob ich etwas trinken möchte. Ich habe auf Englisch geantwortet:
"A cappuccino, please"
und ich war mir nicht sicher, wie ich das auf ...
6
votes
1answer
148 views
“Er ist Geschäftsführer des Unternehmens” oder “Er ist der Geschäftsführer des Unternehmens” - what is correct?
I know, that there is a rule, that occupations are without articles. So, we are writing: "Er ist Arzt".
I have found couple of example on internet, like:
"Er ist der Geschäftsführer des ...
1
vote
1answer
104 views
Is “als Kind gerne” an idiom?
In the Slow German podcast #185, she has
Alexander beschäftigte sich als Kind gerne mit Insekten, Steinen und Pflanzen.
I translate "als Kind gerne" as, "as children are want to do". But a more ...
5
votes
1answer
131 views
Why 'Den' instead of 'Der' in this sentence? Den größten Fehler, den man im Leben machen kann
Den größten Fehler, den man im Leben machen kann, ist, immer Angst zu
haben, einen Fehler zu machen.
This is translated into
The biggest mistake you can make in life is always being afraid of
...
3
votes
3answers
473 views
Why is George R. R. Martin's “A Song of Ice and Fire” titled “Das Lied von Eis und Feuer” in German instead of “Ein Lied von Eis und Feuer”?
This change always bothered me.
Is there a rule in German that prevents book titles from starting with an indefinite article?
0
votes
1answer
96 views
Declension ending “-er” of the adjective Berliner [duplicate]
Why does
die Berliner Mauer
use the adjective with ending -er? Why isn't it
die Berline Mauer
This should be right, but it is not. Why?
1
vote
0answers
21 views
article used in place of possesive pronoun [duplicate]
I've stumbled on a construction that confused me in Kafka's Die Verwandlung where a definite article is used where I would expect to see a possessive pronoun.
wenn er den Kopf ein wenig hob
...
4
votes
3answers
93 views
(Die) Menschen sind entspannter in St. Petersburg
Wie kann ich einer Tandempartnerin erklären, warum man im folgenden letzten Satz den Artikel "Die" nicht weglassen darf?
"Die Uhren gehen in St. Petersburg etwas langsamer. Die Menschen sind ...
6
votes
3answers
184 views
Kann man auf *der* ganzen Linie enttäuschen?
Die ARD schreibt in einem Sportbeitrag "enttäuschten auf der ganzen Linie". Die Linie wurde mit einem bestimmten Artikel versehen. Ich kenne es eigentlich nur unbestimmt, also: "enttäuschten auf ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
Definite article vs. possessive pronoun when indicating actions
What’s the difference between using a definite article and a possessive pronoun to indicate actions (and possibly other things, if applicable)? For example, is there any difference between using die ...
2
votes
2answers
59 views
Need for definite article in plurals
Sometimes, in German, I want to describe a plural of an objects for instance:
Die Delphine können mit den Menschen in gewisser Weise kommunizieren.
Dolphins are able to maintain certain ...
2
votes
2answers
102 views
Why need the definite article “Robin Hood lebte im Sherwoodwald”
I was reading a history book on the topic of Robin Hood and the following line was in it:
Robin Hood lebte im Sherwoodwald
Now, I know that this sentence translates to roughly
Robin Hood lived ...
3
votes
1answer
139 views
use of definite article after “neben”
I'm just a bit stuck with this sentence:
Ich werde mir das Doppelhaus neben dem meines Bruders kaufen.
I can translate this to be:
I will buy myself the house next to my brothers.
The use of ...
3
votes
1answer
99 views
Feminine Definite Article
Die Lampe ist klasse, sie ist nicht langweilig.
Why is there sie after the comma, is that sie for lampe (die Lampe).
3
votes
2answers
495 views
Definite / Nullartikel with general notions
I'm a young scholar in Germany, who is non-native speaker. I dare to say that I'm fluent in German.
I'm currently working on my thesis and came across such cases of article usage, where one cannot say ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
Den Männern vs Die Männer
So I am reading a grammar book, and there are a couple of tables which seem to contradict.
One table states: "The plural forms of the definite article are the same for all genders," and proceeds to ...
7
votes
3answers
350 views
Definite articles for 1st person singular
I know this is a bit contrived, but with literature about clones and time travel and parallel universes, this is bound to come up.
I traveled to 1995, and the I that I saw was not the I I remember ...
4
votes
1answer
461 views
Definite articles - cities, lakes
I read the following title in one of the newspapers:
Neue Parkvorschriften im Simbacher Ortskern
In my workbook it says that town names do not have a definite article if they are unmodified - so ...
0
votes
2answers
117 views
Johannes Nazaräer? (Articles)
The Nazarener were a 19th century German religious art movement. Preferring Nazaräer to Nazarener (because Nazarener is commonly thought to derive etymologically from the geographical Nazaret), how ...
3
votes
2answers
129 views
“ob mit oder ohne Null”
Should we add an article and, if so, in which case:
Für Demonstrationszwecke ist es in diesem Beispiel irrelevant, dass wir die natürlichen Zahlen – ob mit oder ohne [die/der] Null – als zu ...
1
vote
1answer
204 views
“verschiedene” vs. “die unterschiedliche”
A corrector corrrected my
Grafische Darstellungen der Programme laufen Gefahr unterschiedlicher Interpretationen bei verschiedenen Betrachtern.
zu
Grafische Darstellungen der Programme laufen ...
3
votes
3answers
937 views
Why is “den” used in "am Montag, den 10. August''?
This question also has an answer here (in German):
Am Samstag, dem/den
It's more logical to me to be "am Montag, dem 10. August" since without specifying Monday, I would say "am 10. August" ...
7
votes
4answers
424 views
Warum „Das ist der Bus, …“, wenn es doch „der Bus“ ist?
Ich habe es so gelernt:
Da kommt ein Bus.
Der ist nicht der Bus, den wir nehmen.
Er ist nicht der Bus, den wir nehmen.
Das ist nicht der Bus, den wir nehmen.
Warum sagt man nicht „...
1
vote
4answers
5k views
“auf der Straße” not “auf die Straße”? [duplicate]
I am very new to the German language, and have one question here.
In this German sentence "Gehen Sie geradeaus auf der Straße unter den Linden"
I know that "Straße" is female but in the above ...
14
votes
3answers
369 views
“Belange von Minderheiten” – why “von” and not a genitive?
In Wikipedia, it is written that von is not only legitimate but required in the following sentence:
Die Belange von Minderheiten sind zu schützen.
According to the article:
[…] "Belange der ...
4
votes
3answers
392 views
Genitive of masculine plural indefinite nouns: -n ending
Compare:
Plural definite: Plural indefinite:
Nominativ: die Äpfel Äpfel
Genitiv: der Äpfel Äpfel
Dativ: den Äpfeln Äpfeln
Akkusativ: ...
6
votes
1answer
358 views
When is the definite article used before a language name?
When is the definite article supposed to be used in front of a language name? For example, Deutsch vs. das Deutsche, Englisch vs. das Englisch.
As an English speaker, the definite article is not ...
4
votes
2answers
172 views
Where and which article should I use?
During my translations into German language I got confused, when should I use an article and which (definite/indefinite). I have found numerous rules, but maybe somebody can give me a clearer ...
4
votes
2answers
3k views
Den, der, das, and die?
I know I should probably understand it, but I don't fully understand when to use der, die, das, and den, not where they all contrast. What are all of their differences? I'm so confused! T^T
All ...
3
votes
2answers
174 views
What does 'Dem' mean in this context?
Can someone clearly explain the use of "dem" in the following contexts?
Dem halten betroffene Eltern und Pädagogen jedoch entgegen, dass ...
[...] und natürlich auch aus der hohen Anzahl von ...
2
votes
1answer
849 views
Why and when is “der eine” justified over “einer”?
Two questions please.
(a) Can der eine in the following be replaced with einer?
(b) If yes, how is the meaning or nuance changed?
Karl stand eng ans Büfett gedrängt, denn kaum hatte er sich ...
9
votes
3answers
3k views
zum oder zu einem Kaffee/Tee einladen
Is there any difference between der Kaffee/Tee and ein Kaffee/Tee when you want to invite someone for a cup of coffee/tea?
Which sentence would you prefer:
Darf ich Sie zum Kaffee/Tee einladen?
...
4
votes
1answer
166 views
Declension of appositions
The Wikipedia article for Tora in German goes like this:
Die Tora [...] ist der erste Teil des Tanach, der hebräischen Bibel.
It seemed to me that the highlighted article is part of an explanatory ...
11
votes
5answers
6k views
Using definite article with people's names
So, in looking at some fairly basic German conversations, I came across the following:
Hallo, wie heißt du?
Ich heiße Susanne. Und du?
Ich bin der Martin. Und wer ist das?
Das ist meine Freundin, ...
1
vote
2answers
193 views
Artikel für ein englisches Wort? [duplicate]
Welcher bestimmte Artikel sollte man für englische Wörter benutzen? Zum Beispiel, ich möchte "The Toolchain" sagen. Es gibt schon "die Werkzeugkette", aber "The Toolchain" ist ein Eigenname. ...
3
votes
1answer
292 views
No article - why “Altes Rathaus”?
This page is about the old city hall of Munich.
The title is
Altes Rathaus
and in the text it says
Das Alte Rathaus entwickelte sich ...
Now AFAIK the indefinite form is ein altes Rathaus, ...
7
votes
4answers
6k views
In letzter Zeit vs. in der letzten Zeit
Does the presence/absence of the definite article change anything? Or is it just the matter of preference whether to use it or not?
in letzter Zeit
in der letzten Zeit
The German-English ...
2
votes
5answers
637 views
Question about German definite articles
Das war ein Befehl!
Der Angriff Steiners war ein Befehl!
Those are the lines heard in the movie "Der Untergang." I am not sure why das is used in the first sentence. What I think is if the ...
11
votes
1answer
465 views
In flüssigem oder im flüssigen?
Was ist hier der Unterschied? Was ist richtig? Oder beides (unterschiedliche Bedeutung)?
Es fließt in flüssigem Zustand.
Es fließt im flüssigen Zustand.
Oder ähnlich
Sie tanzt in grünem Kleid.
Sie ...
5
votes
1answer
4k views
Usage of articles with “Schule”
I read this question Articles in real life where I saw a number of comments that said that it was typical of Turks, Arabs and Slavic speakers to say something like "Ich war in Schule" or "Ich gehe in ...
