Pluralbildung (Plural formation)

A1 German grammar — Numbers. German nouns form their plural in several ways: -e, -en, -er, -s, or no ending (sometimes with umlaut). The article 'die…

Open chapter: Zahlen

Rule explained

German nouns form their plural in several ways: -e, -en, -er, -s, or no ending (sometimes with umlaut). The article 'die' is always used in the plural.

Examples

Use these mini-pairs as templates:

• der Tisch → die Tische — the table → the tables
• das Kind → die Kinder — the child → the children
• die Frau → die Frauen — the woman → the women
• das Auto → die Autos — the car → the cars
• der Apfel → die Äpfel — the apple → the apples (umlaut)

Common mistakes

Watch out for these learner errors:

• Plural article is ALWAYS 'die', never 'der' or 'das'.
• Memorise plural form together with the noun.