German grammar's two defining features are its four-case, three-gender noun system, and a word-order rule that behaves differently depending on whether you're in a main clause or a subordinate one.
| Case | Marks |
|---|---|
| Nominative | The subject |
| Accusative | The direct object |
| Dative | The indirect object ("to/for") |
| Genitive | Possession |
Every noun is also masculine, feminine, or neuter, and articles/adjectives change form across both gender and case — meaning the word for "the" alone has multiple different forms depending on context (der, die, das, den, dem, des, and more).
In a German main clause, the conjugated verb is always the second grammatical element, no matter what comes first — "Heute gehe ich einkaufen" ("Today go I shopping") puts the verb second even though "today" leads the sentence, unlike English's more rigid subject-first order.
Subordinate clauses (introduced by words like "because" or "that") instead push the conjugated verb to the end of the clause — meaning listeners and readers sometimes have to wait until the very end of a sentence to learn the main action being described.
Four: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive, each affecting the form of articles and adjectives alongside the noun.
In a main clause, the conjugated verb is always the second grammatical element, regardless of what element leads the sentence — a hallmark, frequently cited feature of German syntax.
In subordinate clauses (introduced by words like "because" or "that"), the conjugated verb shifts to the end of the clause instead of staying in second position, unlike in main clauses.
Yes, expected to introduce case and gender agreement progressively, following Tarc's existing course structure.
See also: German Verbs · German Vocabulary · Learn German