German grammar

Nominative Case

The Nominative case is used when the noun is the subject of the sentence — the person or thing performing the action of the verb. Word order in German is flexible, so the subject doesn’t always come first. To identify it, ask: “Who or what is performing the verb?”

Endings in the Nominative Case

Cases affect the form of nouns and their related words. Here are the nominative endings for definite, indefinite, negative, and possessive articles:

Personal Pronouns

These pronouns are in the nominative case (subject pronouns):

Subject of the Verb

When a noun or pronoun is the subject, it determines the verb’s ending. Verb conjugation depends on the subject’s person and number.

Nominative Case After Certain Verbs

The Nominative case follows certain verbs regardless of function. Most commonly:

• sein (to be)
• werden (to become)

Examples:

• Das ist der Supermarkt. – This is the supermarket.
• Morgen wird ein besserer Tag. – Tomorrow will be a better day.

Even though the noun isn't actively doing something, it still takes the nominative case because of the verb used.

Interrogatives in the Nominative Case

In the nominative case, the interrogative pronoun wer (who) remains unchanged. The question word welcher (which) changes depending on gender and number:

Examples

Here are some example sentences where the nominative noun/pronoun is the subject:

• Das Auto fährt sehr schnell. – The car is driving very fast.
• Meine Mutter schreibt schön. – My mother writes beautifully.
• Du hast große Augen. – You have big eyes.
• Ich werde Lehrerin. – I am becoming a teacher.
• Das Geschenk ist ein Buch. – The gift is a book.

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