Adjektive ohne Artikel – Unpreceded attributive adjectives
Attributive adjectives (in contrast with predicate adjectives) are placed before the noun and take endings in both the basic and comparative/superlative forms depending on the gender, number and case of the noun they describe.
Most often unpreceded adjectives, like the name suggests, have no article (or determiner) before them. The term ‘unpreceded’ may be a misnomer, however, since adjectives can be preceded by such determiners as einige, ein wenig, ein bisschen, ein paar, einige, etwas, viele, wenige or numbers (e.g., 20, 100) and still take the so-called strong endings. These endings apply whether the adjective is in the basic form or in the comparative or superlative forms.
To determine the correct adjective ending, determine the gender of the noun the adjective describes (masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural), then determine what case the noun is in the sentence or phrase (nominative, accusative, dative, or genitive).
| Nominativ | Akkusativ | Dativ | Genitiv | |
| Maskulin | barmherziger Jäger | barmherzigen Jäger | barmherzigem Jäger | barmherzigen Jägers |
| Feminin | unbarmherzige Königin | unbarmherzige Königin | unbarmherziger Königin | unbarmherziger Königin |
| Neutral | barmherziges Mädchen | barmherziges Mädchen | barmherzigem Mädchen | barmherzigen Mädchens |
| Plural | barmherzige Zwerge | barmherzige Zwerge | barmherzigen Zwergen | barmherziger Zwerge |
Exceptions
When adjectives that end in –el, –en or –er in the basic form get an adjective ending, they drop the –e– before the final consonant and add the endings to this new form. For example: dunkel (dark) – eine dunkle Nacht.
Some adjectives with foreign origins (many of these words end in a vowel), do not take adjective endings. For example: rosa (pink) – ein rosa Haus.
