German · B1 · Everyday language
Fresh Food Discoveries in German
Use familiar foods to talk about breakfast, lunchboxes and school days. Practise strong adjective endings with singular food and drink nouns used without articles.
What you'll learn
- Describe food and drinks using warm, frisch and kalt.
- Use nominative adjective endings when food or drink is the subject.
- Use accusative adjective endings when food or drink is the direct object.
- Recognise that only the masculine ending changes between these two cases: -er becomes -en.
German phrases for fresh food discoveries
Warmer Tee tut nach einem kalten Fußweg zur Schule gut.
Warm tea feels good after a cold walk to school.
Warmer Tee is the subject. Without an article, warm takes the masculine nominative ending -er. Gut tun means to feel good or do someone good.
Möchtest du nach dem Fußballtraining warmen Tee?
Would you like warm tea after football practice?
Warmen Tee is the direct object of möchtest. The masculine accusative ending is -en.
Frischer Käse schmeckt gut auf deinem Sandwich.
Fresh cheese tastes good on your sandwich.
Frischer Käse is the subject. Käse is masculine, so the adjective takes -er.
Ich kaufe frischen Käse für deine Brotdose.
I am buying fresh cheese for your lunchbox.
Frischen Käse is the direct object of kaufe, so frisch takes -en. German uses the present tense for actions happening now.
Kalte Milch passt gut zu deinem Frühstück.
Cold milk goes well with your breakfast.
Kalte Milch is the subject. Milch is feminine, so the adjective takes -e.
Ich gieße kalte Milch in deine Tasse.
I am pouring cold milk into your cup.
Kalte Milch is the direct object. The feminine accusative ending is -e, just like the nominative.
Frisches Brot duftet morgens wunderbar.
Fresh bread smells wonderful in the morning.
Frisches Brot is the subject. Brot is neuter, so the adjective takes -es.
Ich packe frisches Brot für deinen Schulausflug ein.
I am packing fresh bread for your school trip.
Frisches Brot is the direct object. The neuter accusative ending is -es. Einpacken is separable: ich packe … ein.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Tee
tea
Masculine. When talking about tea without specifying a serving, use no article: warmer Tee.
der Käse
cheese
Masculine. Frischer Käse means fresh cheese; Frischkäse is a specific type of fresh, usually spreadable cheese.
die Milch
milk
Feminine. Kalte Milch has the same adjective ending in the nominative and accusative.
das Brot
bread
Neuter. Here Brot means bread as food, not an individual loaf.
die Brotdose
lunchbox
A common word for the container used for a child's packed lunch or snacks.
schmecken
to taste
Schmeckt gut means tastes good.
duften
to smell pleasant
Useful for describing fresh bread and other foods with a lovely smell.
einpacken
to pack
A separable verb: Ich packe Brot ein means I am packing bread.
Strong adjective endings without articles
When a singular noun has no article or other determiner before it, its adjective takes a strong ending. In these phrases, tea, cheese, milk and bread refer to food or drink without a specified quantity. Learn each noun's gender to choose the right ending.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine nominative: subject | adjective + -er | Warmer Tee tut gut. |
| Masculine accusative: direct object | adjective + -en | Ich trinke warmen Tee. |
| Feminine nominative: subject | adjective + -e | Kalte Milch schmeckt gut. |
| Feminine accusative: direct object | adjective + -e | Ich trinke kalte Milch. |
| Neuter nominative: subject | adjective + -es | Frisches Brot duftet wunderbar. |
| Neuter accusative: direct object | adjective + -es | Ich kaufe frisches Brot. |
Finding the subject and direct object
The subject is what the sentence says something about: what tastes good or smells wonderful? The direct object is what someone buys, pours, packs or would like. Only masculine strong adjective endings change between nominative and accusative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What tastes good? | nominative subject | Frischer Käse schmeckt gut. |
| What am I buying? | accusative direct object | Ich kaufe frischen Käse. |
More examples
Frischer Käse passt gut zu frischem Brot.
Fresh cheese goes well with fresh bread.
Frischer Käse is nominative. After zu, frischem Brot is dative: the neuter strong ending is -em here.
Möchtest du kalte Milch?
Would you like cold milk?
Kalte Milch is accusative. The feminine ending stays -e.
Ich packe frischen Käse und frisches Brot ein.
I am packing fresh cheese and fresh bread.
Both foods are direct objects: masculine Käse takes -en, while neuter Brot takes -es.