Der Plural von Substantiven – Noun plurals
In German, a noun is either singular or plural. It is usually introduced by a determiner that helps identify whether the noun is singular or plural. Singular nouns [when they are the subjects of a sentence] are preceded by der (masc), die (fem) or das (neuter). Plural nouns are preceded by die:
| Die Bäume wachsen neben dem Fluss. | The trees grow next to the river. |
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There are many ways that German can form plurals, and there is no really easy way to guess which noun has which plural ending, so it’s best just to memorize the plural forms along with the gender of each noun.
The two key things that happen to nouns when they are made into plurals is that they may receive an ending (e, n, en, er, s) and they may receive an Umlaut on their stem vowel (main vowel of the noun).
Since there is little pattern to the distribution of endings (although there are some), it is best to work backwards and group nouns according to the changes they go through in the plural. Don’t worry, though, you do this automatically in English as well, although there are many different ways to form English plurals too!
Here are some of the exciting combinations that you will encounter in German:
1. No ending, plural noun looks the same as the singular noun
a) most masculine and neuter nouns that end in -el, -en, -er
b) all the neuter nouns that end in diminutives (-chen and -lein)
c) all neuter words that begin with Ge– (e.g., Gebäude: building)
| Der Jäger ist pensioniert. Jäger töten keine Wölfe mehr; sie sind gefährdete Tiere! | The hunter is retired. Hunters don’t kill wolves anymore; they are endangered animals! |
| Er hat alle seine Messer verschenkt. Er hat selbst sein berühmtes Messer nicht mehr! | He gave away all his knives. He doesn’t even have his famous knife anymore! |
2. No ending but Umlaut on stressed vowel
a) a handful of masculine nouns that end in -el, -en
b) Mutter and Tochter (feminine nouns), Kloster and Wasser (neuter nouns)
| Meine Großmutter ist sehr mutig. Großmütter heutzutage haben keine Angst vor dem Wolf! | My grandmother is very brave. Grandmothers nowadays are not afraid of wolves at all! |
3. ER/Umlaut + ER ending
a handful of masculine and neuter nouns
| Wenn ich mich wirklich schlimm fühle, gehe ich in den Wald. Wälder finde ich sehr beruhigend! | When I feel really bad, I go into the forest. I find forests very calming! |
4. -E ending
a) quite a few masculine and neuter nouns
b) feminine nouns that end in –nis, –sal
| Ein Tag im Leben… Die Memoiren beschreiben die alten Tage. | A day in the life … The memoir describes the olden days. |
| Es gab viele Probleme in seinem Leben. Ehrlich gesagt, das Schreiben ist auch ein Problem! | There were a lot of problems in his life. Honestly, writing is now a problem! |
5. Umlaut + -E ending
a) many masculine nouns and the neuter Floß (raft) get an Umlaut on the stem vowel (a, o, u only)
b) a handful of feminine mono-syllabic nouns (consisting of one syllable only)
| Er isst jetzt Nüsse! Vorher hätte er keinen einzigen Nuss gegessen! | He now eats nuts! Before, he would not have eaten a single nut! |
6. -EN/N ending
a) all masculine nouns that end in -e, masculine nouns that describe male persons
b) most feminine nouns
c) a small group of neuter nouns
| Der Freund pflückt eine Blume. Er hat veilchenblaue Blumen am liebsten. | The wolf is picking a flower. He likes periwinkle colored flowers the best. |
| Selbst sein Bett, so wie die Betten seiner Mitbewohner, sind veilchenblau dekoriert. | Even his bed, just like the beds of his roommates, is decorated in periwinkle. |
7. -S ending
Many foreign words get an -s ending in German to form the plural.
| Wir alle brauchen neue Handys, aber das alte Handy von Nicole funktioniert noch wie neu. | All of us need new cell phones, but Nicole’s cell phone works like new. |
False friends with English
Some nouns are plural in English, but singular in German:
| singular | plural | |||
| die Hose | pants | => | zwei Hosen | two pairs of pants |
| die Schere | scissors | => | zwei Scheren | two pairs of scissors |
| die Brille | glasses | => | zwei Brillen | two pairs of glasses |
| die Polizei | the police | => | die Polizisten | the policemen |
