When an attributive adjective follows a definite article, you are in the cleanest corner of German adjective endings. You never need -er, -es, or -em here—every single ending is either -e or -en.
The Weak Declension (Schwache Deklination) applies whenever an adjective comes after der, die, das or another determiner that carries clear case and gender markers (dieser, jener, jeder, welcher). Because the article already signals the noun’s role in the sentence, the adjective does not need to repeat that heavy grammatical information.
(New to adjective placement? Start with predicative vs. attributive adjectives first.)
The “5-E Club” Rule
You do not need to memorize sixteen separate cells in a chart. Instead, learn the five exact instances where the weak ending is -e:
- Nominative Masculine: der alte Mann (the old man — der Mann)
- Nominative Feminine: die neue Tasche (the new bag — die Tasche)
- Nominative Neuter: das schöne Haus (the beautiful house — das Haus)
- Accusative Feminine: die neue Tasche (the new bag — die Tasche)
- Accusative Neuter: das schöne Haus (the beautiful house — das Haus)
Every other form in the weak declension takes -en!
That means all Dative forms, all Genitive forms, all Plural forms, and Masculine Accusative (den) take -en. If you picture those five -e positions inside the grid as an L- or boot-shaped block in the top-left corner, every cell outside that shape is simply -en.
Weak Declension Master Table
Look at how the five -e cells cluster in the singular Nominative and non-masculine Accusative, while everything else stays -en:
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der alte | die alte | das alte | die alten |
| Akkusativ | den alten | die alte | das alte | die alten |
| Dativ | dem alten | der alten | dem alten | den alten |
| Genitiv | des alten | der alten | des alten | der alten |
Notice a subtle visual pattern: whenever the definite article itself changes away from its dictionary Nominative form (der → den/dem/des, die [fem.] → der, das → dem/des), the adjective ending is guaranteed to be -en! And in the plural, even Nominative and Accusative take -en: die alten Häuser (the old houses).
Examples in Full Sentences
See how the case of the noun determines the article first, and the article locks in -e or -en:
- Nominative Neuter (-e): Das schöne Haus gefällt mir. (I like the beautiful house. — das Haus is the subject.)
- Nominative Masculine (-e): Dieser alte Baum steht schon lange hier. (This old tree has stood here for a long time. — der Baum.)
- Accusative Masculine (-en): Ich sehe den alten Mann am Bahnhof. (I see the old man at the station. — der Mann as direct object.)
- Accusative Feminine (-e): Sie trägt die neue Tasche zur Arbeit. (She carries the new bag to work. — die Tasche.)
- Dative Feminine (-en): Sie kommt mit der neuen Tasche. (She is coming with the new bag. — mit governs Dative.)
- Dative Masculine (-en): Wir sprechen mit dem netten Nachbarn. (We are talking with the nice neighbor. — der Nachbar.)
- Dative Plural (-en): Ich helfe den jungen Studentinnen. (I am helping the young female students. — die Studentin / die Studentinnen.)
- Genitive Neuter (-en): Die Farbe des schnellen Autos ist blau. (The color of the fast car is blue. — das Auto.)
All Trigger Words That Follow This Table
It is not just der, die, das that trigger the weak declension. Any “der-word” determiner whose endings mirror der / die / das uses the exact same -e / -en table:
| Determiner | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| dieser / diese / dieses | this / these | in diesem kleinen Café | in this small café (das Café) |
| jeder / jede / jedes | every / each | jeden zweiten Tag | every second day (der Tag) |
| welcher / welche / welches | which | welches rote Kleid | which red dress (das Kleid) |
| jener / jene / jenes | that / those | jene alten Briefe | those old letters (der Brief / die Briefe) |
| alle / beide (plural) | all / both | alle wichtigen Fragen | all important questions (die Frage / die Fragen) |
| derselbe / dieselbe / dasselbe | the same | am selben neuen Tisch | at the same new table (der Tisch) |
Remember that alle only appears in the plural (or with uncountable singulars like alles Gute), so alle + adjective + plural noun always ends in -en: alle neuen Kolleginnen (all new female colleagues).
Combining Two Adjectives After der/die/das
What happens if you stack two adjectives before a noun—for instance, the big old house? Both adjectives obey the exact same rule and carry the exact same ending:
- das große, alte Haus (Nominative neuter → both take -e)
- mit dem großen, alten Freund (Dative masculine → both take -en)
(You can verify noun genders with the Der, Die, Das Checker and test multi-adjective phrases in the Adjective Declension Calculator.)
Common Mistakes: Wrong vs. Right
| Mistake | Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using -e in Masculine Accusative | Ich kenne den neue Lehrer. | Ich kenne den neuen Lehrer. | Masculine Accusative (den) is outside the 5-E Club and always takes -en. |
| Using -e in Dative Feminine | Mit der neue Jacke. | Mit der neuen Jacke. | All Dative forms take -en, even though the article looks like der. |
| Using -e in Nominative Plural | Die kleine Kinder spielen. | Die kleinen Kinder spielen. | Every plural form after die takes -en, never -e. |
| Adding strong -er/-es after dieser | Dieses kaltes Wasser. | Dieses kalte Wasser. | dieses already carries the -es signal, so the adjective stays weak (-e). |
Once der/die/das endings feel automatic, compare them with mixed declension after ein, kein, and mein and strong declension with no article.