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The noun |
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Words like the following are called nouns. They are written with a capital initial letter:
Mensch, Frau, Redner, Automobilistin; Katze, Säugetier, Vogel, Amöbe; Eiche, Baum, Tulpe, Blume; Hemd, Kleidungsstück, Straßenbahn, Felsbrocken; Luft, Mehl; Herde, Obst; Felix, Wien, Donau, Matterhorn; Erziehung, Liebe, Reinheit, Entfernung, Philosophie, Verstand
Nouns denote persons, animals, plants, things, materials, and abstract concepts like qualities, processes, actions, relations, etc.
A noun (alone or accompanied by other words) can be the subject, an object, an adverbial or an attribute of the sentence:
| Subject |
Der Hund bellt. |
| Object |
Der Hund frisst einen Knochen. |
| Adverbial |
Sie schaute aus dem Fenster. |
| Attribute |
das Fell des Hundes |
Nouns can be inflected. The inflected wordforms of a noun express the categories number (singular – plural) and case (nominative, accusative, etc.)
| Number |
Bild – Bilder |
| Case |
Bild – Bildes – Bilde |
Every noun has a gender. The gender is usually identified by the definite article der, die or das:
| masculine |
der Mann, der Stuhl, der Auftrag |
| feminine |
die Frau, die Lampe, die Treue |
| neuter |
das Kind, das Bett, das Leiden |
Nouns are described under the following topics:
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