Meet the nominative
The nominative marks the subject: who or what does the action? It is also used after sein. Articles: der, die, das, die (plural).
Understand the idea
The subject is the person or thing the sentence makes a statement about. It controls the finite verb, even when another phrase comes first. Nominative is therefore a grammatical role, not a rule that the first noun in a sentence must be the subject.
Build it step by step
Ask who or what performs the action, then match the verb to that subject. After linking verbs such as sein, a noun identifying the subject also stays nominative. A time or place expression may stand before the finite verb without changing the subject's case. Pronouns such as ich, du, er and wir are nominative subject forms.
See it in a sentence
Der Mann trinkt Kaffee.
Die Frau liest ein Buch.
Quick reference
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | den |
| Genitive | des | der | des | der |
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein | eine | ein |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem |
| Genitive | eines | einer | eines |
A useful memory aid
Find the finite verb and ask which person or thing it agrees with. This is more reliable than choosing the first noun you see.
A common trap
Do not turn a noun after sein into an accusative object. In Das ist ein Lehrer, the identifying noun remains nominative: ein, not einen.