https://blog.coffeecoded.dev/language/ Recent content in Language on Coffee Coded Hugo en Sat, 18 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.coffeecoded.dev/language/learning-german-cases/ Sat, 18 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.coffeecoded.dev/language/learning-german-cases/ <p>One of the biggest hurdles for English speakers learning German is the case system. In English, we mostly care about word order. In German, the <em>function</em> of a noun in a sentence changes its article (and sometimes its ending).</p> <p>Let&rsquo;s start with the two most common cases.</p> <h3 id="nominative-nominativ">Nominative (Nominativ)</h3> <p>The <strong>nominative</strong> case is for the <strong>subject</strong> of the sentence—the person or thing <em>doing</em> the action.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Der Hund</strong> beißt den Mann. (<em>The dog</em> bites the man.)</li> <li><strong>Die Frau</strong> liest ein Buch. (<em>The woman</em> is reading a book.)</li> </ul> <p>If you ask &ldquo;Who is doing the action?&rdquo;, the answer is in the nominative case.</p>