Genau
Topic test · A2

Adjective endings test

22questions
13minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

22 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

Das ist Wein. (gut · masculine)

This is a good wine.

ein guter. ein is bare in the masculine nominative, so the adjective carries the signal (-r). Don’t mix it up with der gute Wein, where the article carries it.

Ich trinke Kaffee. (kalt · no article)

I’m drinking cold coffee.

kalten. No article → the adjective takes the article’s ending. The masculine Akkusativ article is den, so the adjective is kalten.

Der Wein ist .

The wine is nice.

gut — no ending. An adjective that comes after the verb never changes. The tables only apply when the adjective stands BEFORE the noun.

Ich helfe Mann. (der · alt)

I’m helping the old man.

dem alten. In the Dativ the article carries the signal and the adjective relaxes → -en. In fact all four Dativ cells are -en.

Which one is correct?

A big, old tree.

ein großer, alter Baum. If two adjectives describe the same noun, both take the same ending — one doesn’t get an ending while the other stays bare.

Wir essen Brot. (frisch · no article · neuter)

We’re eating fresh bread.

frisches. No article → the adjective takes over the -s of das. In the neuter, the Akkusativ looks the same as the Nominativ.

Frau wartet draußen. (die · jung)

The young woman is waiting outside.

Die junge. One of the five -e cells after a definite article: the three Nominativ singulars (der · die · das) and the feminine and neuter Akkusativ. Everything else is -en.

Ich kaufe Auto. (ein · neu)

I’m buying a new car.

ein neues. ein is also bare in the neuter nominative and Akkusativ — again the adjective carries the signal (-s). These are the three cells where ein stays bare: masculine nominative, neuter nominative, neuter Akkusativ.

Sie hat Haare. (lang · plural · no article)

She has long hair.

lange. Plural Akkusativ with no article: the article would be die, and the adjective takes its -e. Using plurals without an article is very common — gute Freunde · alte Bücher.

Ich wohne in Wohnung. (eine · klein)

I live in a small flat.

einer kleinen. Here in tells you where → Dativ. In the Dativ ein is no longer bare (einer), it carries the signal, so the adjective relaxes → -en.

Der Film war sehr . (interessant)

The film was very interesting.

interessant — no ending. The adjective comes after sein, so it isn’t in front of a noun. Even with sehr in between, nothing changes.

Er trägt Hemd. (das · weiß)

He’s wearing the white shirt.

das weiße. Neuter Akkusativ with a definite article: -e. In the neuter, Nominativ and Akkusativ always look the same — learn one form and you’ve covered two cells.

Mit Auto fahren wir. (mein · alt)

We’re going in my old car.

meinem alten. mein · dein · kein are all in the same group as ein — they follow the same table. mit takes the Dativ, and in the Dativ the article carries the signal → the adjective takes -en.

Ich habe Zeit. (viel)

I have a lot of time.

viel — no ending. viel and wenig stay unchanged before singular, uncountable nouns: viel Zeit · viel Geld · wenig Glück. Before plurals they do take an ending: viele Bücher · wenige Leute.

Kinder spielen draußen. (die · klein)

The small children are playing outside.

Die kleinen. A plural with a definite article takes -en in every case. Singular and plural get mixed up: das kleine Kind but die kleinen Kinder.

Guten Tag! — Where does the -en here come from?

Good day!

Masculine Akkusativ with no article. The greeting is really a shortened sentence: Ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Tag. The masculine Akkusativ article is den, and the adjective takes its -n. Same reason for Guten Morgen · Gute Nacht — the last one is feminine, so -e.

Das ist Idee. (eine · gut)

That’s a good idea.

eine gute. In the ein group the adjective carries the load in only three cells; the feminine isn’t one of them. eine already shows its signal with -e, so the adjective relaxes.

Ich möchte Bier. (ein · kalt)

I’d like a cold beer.

ein kaltes. The trap is the Akkusativ: if the noun were masculine it would be einen kalten, but das Bier is neuter, and in the neuter the Akkusativ changes nothing. Know the gender first, then look at the table.

Why does the -r move between der gute Wein and ein guter Wein?

the good wine / a good wine

The signal shows up once. That is the entire logic of the table. der already says “masculine nominative”, so the adjective doesn’t need to repeat it. ein says nothing — so the adjective speaks.

When does an adjective never take an ending?

Where it takes no ending.

When it comes after the verb. Der Wein ist gut. · Der Wein schmeckt gut. — the adjective isn’t describing a noun, it’s part of the predicate. The 48-cell table only opens in the order “adjective + noun”; knowing that covers half the topic.

If there is no article (der, die, das) in front of a noun, the adjective is used in its plain form with no ending.

False. With no article, the adjective follows the strong declension and takes on the ending the article would have carried (e.g. kalter Kaffee).

Build the sentence: I’m selling the old car.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

With a definite article (das) in the neuter Akkusativ, the adjective takes only -e (das alte Auto).
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. First ask: who carries the signal?

    The letter that shows case and gender appears once. If the article carries it, the adjective relaxes; if the article doesn’t, the adjective takes the load.

    der gute Wein ↔ ein guter Wein

  2. After der there are only two endings

    After a definite article the adjective takes either -e or -en. Five cells are -e, the other eleven are -en. The whole Dativ and Genitiv are -en.

    der gute · die gute · das gute · den guten

  3. No article: the adjective steps into the article’s place

    With no article at all, the adjective takes the article’s last letter: der → -er · das → -es · die → -e · den → -en.

    kalter Kaffee · frisches Brot · gute Milch

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • ein gute Wein

    ein guter Wein

    ein is bare in the masculine nominative — the signal doesn’t show at all. So the adjective has to carry the -r.

  • Der Wein ist guter.

    Der Wein ist gut.

    The adjective comes after the verb, not before the noun. There it never changes — the table doesn’t even apply.

  • Ich trinke kalter Kaffee.

    Ich trinke kalten Kaffee.

    There is no article, so the adjective takes the article’s ending — and here the case is Akkusativ: den → kalten.

  • ein großer, alte Baum

    ein großer, alter Baum

    If two adjectives describe the same noun, both take the same ending; one doesn’t get left behind.