I can name any food in the plural with the article die, tell the five plural endings apart, and avoid mistakes where German has no plural at all.
The plural: five endings and one article
The plural: five endings and one article
Shopping means counting, so you need the plural early.
The key point: in the plural all three genders share one article, die. der Apfel — die Äpfel, die Tomate — die Tomaten, das Ei — die Eier. In the accusative it is die too: Ich suche die Tomaten.
Five endings, in the table: -e, -er, -n or -en, -s, and no ending. English adds -s almost everywhere; German has no rule for which word takes which ending, so learn the plural with the word (the word lists now show it in parentheses).
In some words the vowel takes an umlaut: der Saft — die Säfte. The umlaut changes the sound: not [a] but [ɛ], the e of “bet”.
Words ending in -in double the n: die Lehrerin — die Lehrerinnen.
Some words have no plural at all: die Milch, die Butter, der Käse, das Fleisch. Two traps for English speakers: das Gemüse (“vegetables”) is singular, like das Obst, and so is the verb: Das Obst ist frisch. And die Nudeln (“pasta”) is plural only.
Negation: in the plural kein becomes keine — Ich brauche keine Äpfel.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “die Brots” — correct: die Brote.
• NOT “die Kartoffels” — correct: die Kartoffeln.
• NOT “zwei Milchen” — die Milch has no plural.
• NOT “Das Obst sind frisch” — correct: Das Obst ist frisch.
• NOT “Der Äpfel sind teuer” — the plural article is die.
• NOT “Ich brauche kein Tomaten” — in the plural it's keine.
Five plural endings
In the plural, all three genders have one article — die.
| Ending | One | Many |
|---|---|---|
| -e | das Brot | die Brote |
| -er | das Ei | die Eier |
| -(e)n | die Tomate | die Tomaten |
| -(e)n | die Kartoffel | die Kartoffeln |
| -s | das Hotel | die Hotels |
| no ending | das Brötchen | die Brötchen |
Umlaut, -innen, and words with no plural
The umlaut changes the sound: not [a] but [ɛ], the e of “bet”.
| Type | One | Many |
|---|---|---|
| the vowel takes an umlaut | der Apfel | die Äpfel |
| the vowel takes an umlaut | der Saft | die Säfte |
| the vowel takes an umlaut | die Stadt | die Städte |
| a word ending in -in doubles the n | die Lehrerin | die Lehrerinnen |
| a word ending in -in doubles the n | die Verkäuferin | die Verkäuferinnen |
| no plural | die Milch | — |
| no plural | das Obst | — |
| plural only | — | die Nudeln |
Lesson notes
The plural: five endings and one article
Shopping means counting, so you need the plural early.
The key point: in the plural all three genders share one article, die. der Apfel — die Äpfel, die Tomate — die Tomaten, das Ei — die Eier. In the accusative it is die too: Ich suche die Tomaten.
Five endings, in the table: -e, -er, -n or -en, -s, and no ending. English adds -s almost everywhere; German has no rule for which word takes which ending, so learn the plural with the word (the word lists now show it in parentheses).
In some words the vowel takes an umlaut: der Saft — die Säfte. The umlaut changes the sound: not [a] but [ɛ], the e of “bet”.
Words ending in -in double the n: die Lehrerin — die Lehrerinnen.
Some words have no plural at all: die Milch, die Butter, der Käse, das Fleisch. Two traps for English speakers: das Gemüse (“vegetables”) is singular, like das Obst, and so is the verb: Das Obst ist frisch. And die Nudeln (“pasta”) is plural only.
Negation: in the plural kein becomes keine — Ich brauche keine Äpfel.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “die Brots” — correct: die Brote.
• NOT “die Kartoffels” — correct: die Kartoffeln.
• NOT “zwei Milchen” — die Milch has no plural.
• NOT “Das Obst sind frisch” — correct: Das Obst ist frisch.
• NOT “Der Äpfel sind teuer” — the plural article is die.
• NOT “Ich brauche kein Tomaten” — in the plural it's keine.