What is the nominative?
The nominative is the "base form" of a noun. It's the form you find in the dictionary. In the other cases, the article and the ending change through declension.
In a sentence, the noun in the nominative is usually the subject: the person or thing that does something or is in a certain state.
The question words for the nominative: Wer? (for persons) and Was? (for things).
The Subject
The subject is in the nominative. It carries out the action or describes a state.
| masculine | feminine | neuter | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| definite | der | die | das | die |
| indefinite | ein | eine | ein | – |
The verb always agrees with the subject (nominative): Der Mann IST müde. Die Kinder SIND müde.
After sein, werden, bleiben
After sein, werden and bleiben, the nominative is also used. The noun after them describes the same person or thing as the subject, it is not an object. More on sein and werden on the auxiliary verbs page.
Exercises
Test your knowledge of the nominative with two exercise parts.
Who or what?
Which part of the sentence is in the nominative?
Correct form
Fill in the correct article in the nominative.