German · B1 · Everyday language
Small Things Matter in German
Talk about small, useful things that make your child's school day easier. Practise plural adjectives without an article: they end in -e in both the nominative and accusative.
What you'll learn
- Describe everyday school items and routines.
- Use strong adjective endings with plural nouns without an article.
- Recognise nominative subjects and accusative direct objects.
German phrases for small things matter
Spitze Bleistifte sind bei deinen Hausaufgaben hilfreich.
Sharp pencils are useful for your homework.
Spitze Bleistifte is the nominative plural subject. With no article, spitz takes -e.
Frische Äpfel schmecken beim Mittagessen gut.
Fresh apples taste good at lunchtime.
Frische Äpfel is the nominative plural subject. The plural of Apfel is Äpfel.
Klare Regeln machen Spiele fairer.
Clear rules make games fairer.
Klare Regeln is the nominative plural subject. Fairer means 'fairer'; its -er marks comparison, not an adjective ending for case.
Lange Wörter können am Anfang schwierig sein.
Long words can be difficult at first.
Lange Wörter is the nominative plural subject. With können, the infinitive sein goes at the end.
Wir brauchen saubere Socken für deinen Sportverein.
We need clean socks for your sports club.
Saubere Socken is the accusative plural object of brauchen. Sauber becomes saubere before the noun.
Ich packe kleine Sandwiches für deinen Ausflug ein.
I'll pack small sandwiches for your trip.
Kleine Sandwiches is the accusative plural object. Einpacken is separable: ich packe … ein. The present tense can express a future plan.
Du kannst spannende Bücher aus der Bibliothek ausleihen.
You can borrow exciting books from the library.
Spannende Bücher is the accusative plural object. After kannst, the infinitive ausleihen goes at the end.
Lass uns bunte Aufkleber für deinen Lesepass aussuchen.
Let's choose colourful stickers for your reading chart.
Bunte Aufkleber is the accusative plural object. Lass uns … aussuchen means 'Let's choose …'. Lesepass refers here to a chart or record for tracking reading.
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
spitz
sharp; pointed
Use spitz for a pencil with a sharp point. Scharf is typically used for a sharp blade.
das Wort; die Wörter
word; words
Use Wörter when talking about individual words, for example in reading or spelling.
sauber
clean
Before a plural noun without an article in the nominative or accusative, use saubere.
ausleihen
to borrow; to lend
The context tells you which meaning applies. Bücher aus der Bibliothek ausleihen means borrowing books from the library.
der Aufkleber; die Aufkleber
sticker; stickers
The singular and plural noun forms are identical.
der Lesepass
reading record; reading chart
A child can use a Lesepass to record reading progress, sometimes with stickers or stamps.
Strong adjective endings: plural -e
When a plural noun has no article or other determiner, an adjective before it takes a strong ending. In both the nominative and accusative, this ending is -e.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative plural: the subject | adjective + -e + plural noun | Klare Regeln machen Spiele fairer. |
| Accusative plural: the direct object | adjective + -e + plural noun | Wir brauchen saubere Socken. |
When this pattern changes
The -e rule here applies to adjectives before plural nouns without an article in these two cases. After die or a possessive such as deine, use -en instead. Adjectives describing a noun after sein do not take case endings.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Without an article | lange Wörter | Lange Wörter sind schwierig. |
| With the definite article | die langen Wörter | Wir üben die langen Wörter. |
| With a possessive | deine spitzen Bleistifte | Deine spitzen Bleistifte sind hilfreich. |
| Adjective after sein | plural noun + sind + adjective without an ending | Die Bleistifte sind spitz. |
More examples
Bunte Aufkleber machen deinen Lesepass schöner.
Colourful stickers make your reading chart nicer.
Bunte Aufkleber is the nominative plural subject.
Wir packen frische Äpfel und kleine Sandwiches ein.
We're packing fresh apples and small sandwiches.
Both frische Äpfel and kleine Sandwiches are accusative plural objects without articles.