N-Declension of Nouns
You know that nouns are are less complicated grammatically than the verbs, but that you have to memorize the gender, how the plural is formed, etc., because each noun has evolved in its own way. There are some features you would think you could rely on, like the -s in the genitive of the masculine or neuter nouns. However, in this chapter we will look at two groups of nouns that follow other patterns.
The first is called the n-declension.
There is a relatively small group of masculine nouns that have only two endings for all the cases. There is the nominative singular, and to this you add always the ending -n or -en, to form the otherl cases or the plural.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative Dative Accusative Genitive |
der Student dem Studenten den Studenten des Studenten |
die Studenten den Studenten die Studenten der Studenten |
Many nouns that belong to this group end in -e and designate living beings:
der Franzose (Frenchman), der Däne (Dane), der Schwede (Swede), der Chinese (Chinese), der Pole (Pole), der Finne (Finn), der Bulgare (Bulgarian), der Jude (Jew)...
der Biologe (biologist), der Pädagoge (pedagogue), der Psychologe (psychologist)...
der Löwe (lion), der Affe (monkey), der Hase (rabbit), der Rabe (raven), der Falke (falcon)...
There is also a group of nouns ending in consonants that belong to the n-declension, still indicating living beings:
der Mensch (man as species), der Nachbar (neighbor), der Held (hero, protagonist), der Christ (christian), der Prinz (prince), der Fürst (prince, sovereign), der Graf (count), der Narr (fool)...
Many nouns imported from foreign languages use also this declension. You can recognize some of them by their endings:
ent: der Präsident (president), der Student, der Produzent (producer)
ist: der Polizist (policeman), der Optimist (optimist), der Kommunist (communist), der Terrorist (terrorist), der Idealist (idealist),
at: der Automat (automat), der Demokrat (democrat), der Bürokrat (bureaucrat),
et: der Athlet (athlet), der Planet (planet), der Prophet (prophet)
as well as:
der Philosoph (philosopher), der Doktorand (PhD-student), der Assistent (assistent), der Pilot (pilot), der Patriot (patriot), der Chirurg (surgeon), der Katholik (catholic), der Architekt (architect), der Fotograf (photographer)...
Variations
Some masculine nouns ending in -e use -en for all cases except the nominative singular, but also add an -s to the genitive singular, so it ends in -ens:
der Name, den Namen, dem Namen, des Namens
To this group belong der Gedanke, der Wille, der Buchstabe, der Funke.
Another group forms only the plural according to n-declension:
der Professor, des Professors - die Professoren
der Motor, des Motors - die Motoren
der See, des Sees - die Seen
der Staat, des Staats - die Staaten
There is one neuter noun that belongs officially to the n-declension, though the singular does not look like it, because the nominative and the accusative are the same, and the genitive singular has the -ens ending.
| Nom. | das Herz | die Herzen |
| Acc. | das Herz | die Herzen |
| Dat | dem Herzen | den Herzen |
| Gen. | des Herzens | der Herzen |