diff --git a/learning-records/0005-accusative-adjective-endings-7-of-10.md b/learning-records/0005-accusative-adjective-endings-7-of-10.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c2c93d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/learning-records/0005-accusative-adjective-endings-7-of-10.md @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +# Accusative Adjective Endings: 7/10 — One Clear Misconception Found + +Missed 3 of 10 on the lesson 5 drill. Two of the three errors point to the same misconception rather than +random slips. + +**The declension-type mixup (Q6, Q9):** Both misses used the ending *-es* after a der-word — *das alte Auto* +answered as *altes*, and *den teuren Kostenvoranschlag* answered as *teures*. *-es* is a mixed/strong +declension ending (neuter, used only when nothing else marks the noun as neuter). It never appears in weak +declension, where the only two options are *-e* and *-en* — the der-word (*das*, *den*) already marks gender +and case, so the adjective doesn't need to repeat the signal. + +**The gender miss (Q5):** *eine nette E-Mail* was answered as *einen netten*, treating *E-Mail* as masculine. +This is the same slip flagged in the diagnostic session (0003-diagnostic-session-gaps.md) — *E-Mail* is a +memorize-only noun that has now failed twice under production pressure despite the correction being given +each time. + +**Implications:** The next adjective-endings pass should call out the weak-declension rule explicitly — +"after der/die/das, the only two endings that exist are -e and -en; -es is never one of them" — as its own +line, not just something implied by the table. *E-Mail*'s gender needs deliberate spaced repetition (flashcard +style); two incidental exposures haven't fixed it, so it likely needs a short, focused noun-gender refresh +revisiting the lesson 2 gap rather than more incidental exposure in unrelated lessons. diff --git a/lessons/0005-accusative-adjective-endings.html b/lessons/0005-accusative-adjective-endings.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a1506e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/lessons/0005-accusative-adjective-endings.html @@ -0,0 +1,311 @@ + + + + + + Lesson 5 — Accusative Adjective Endings + + + + +
+ +

Lesson 5 of your German course

+

Accusative Adjective Endings

+

B1.2 · Grammar · ~20 minutes

+ +

+ Lesson 3 covered how articles change in the accusative (der → den). Adjectives placed in front of a noun carry their own ending too — and that ending depends on what, if anything, comes before the adjective: a der-word, an ein-word, or nothing at all. This is the source of errors like letzten Samstag, einen neuen Termin — the rule is known, but which ending to reach for isn't automatic yet. +

+ +

Three situations, three ending patterns

+ +
+
Weak declension — after der/die/das
+

The article already shows the case, so the adjective ending is minimal.

+
+ der neue Termin  →  Ich habe den neuen Termin abgesagt. +
+
+ +
+
Mixed declension — after ein/eine/ein, kein, mein, sein...
+

Ein-words don't mark masculine nominative or neuter, so the adjective picks up the slack there.

+
+ ein günstiger Mechaniker  →  Wir brauchen einen günstigen Mechaniker. +
+
+ +
+
Strong declension — no article at all
+

With nothing in front, the adjective alone has to signal gender and case — it behaves like a der-word.

+
+ frischer Kaffee  →  Ich trinke frischen Kaffee.
+ (letzten Samstag — same pattern, masculine accusative, no article) +
+
+ +

The endings, side by side

+ +

Accusative singular only — this is where your errors cluster:

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
masculinefeminineneuter
after der-wordden neuendie neuedas alte
after ein-wordeinen neueneine netteein kaputtes
no articlefrischen (Kaffee)frische (Milch)kaltes (Wasser)
+ +
+ The one thing worth memorising first: in the accusative, only masculine ever changes — and it always changes to -en, no matter what (or whether anything) precedes the adjective. Feminine and neuter keep the same ending they'd have in the nominative. Exactly the same simplification as the article table from Lesson 3. +
+ +

Plural, no article, also stays simple — it takes -e in both nominative and accusative, same as the article die doesn't change:

+ +
+ Ich brauche neue Reifen.  — I need new tyres. +
+ +
+ +

Drill — choose the correct ending

+ +

Each sentence is accusative. Decide what precedes the adjective (der-word, ein-word, or nothing), then pick the ending.

+ +
+ +
+ — +
+ +

Primary source

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+

+

+ +
+ Ask your teacher: Bring a sentence where you weren't sure which adjective ending to use — especially anything with a time expression like letzten Samstag or nächste Woche, since those skip the article entirely and are easy to get wrong on reflex. +
+ +
+ Related: + Lesson 1: V2 Word Order · + Lesson 2: Noun Gender · + Lesson 3: The Four Cases · + Lesson 4: Subordinate Clauses +
+ +
+ + + + +