A1-13 · Recognise and use plural nouns
Food
Name everyday food and learn several common plural patterns.
About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions
01
One and more than one
Learn a noun together with its plural. The plural article is die for all genders. Some plural forms add an ending and change the vowel.
Hier sind zwei Äpfel.
Here are two apples.
Hier sind drei Bananen.
Here are three bananas.
Das sind vier Tomaten.
Those are four tomatoes.
Das sind sechs Eier.
Those are six eggs.
The pairs are der Apfel / die Äpfel, die Banane / die Bananen, die Tomate / die Tomaten and das Ei / die Eier.
02
Bread and vegetables
Different nouns use different endings. Read the examples aloud and learn each complete pair.
Hier sind zwei Brote.
Here are two loaves of bread.
Das sind fünf Kartoffeln.
Those are five potatoes.
Hier sind zwei Gurken.
Here are two cucumbers.
Hier sind drei Brötchen.
Here are three bread rolls.
Use das Brot / die Brote, die Kartoffel / die Kartoffeln, die Gurke / die Gurken and das Brötchen / die Brötchen. Brötchen has the same form in singular and plural.
03
Is or are?
Use ist for one thing and sind for more than one. Milch and Käse often describe food as a substance, without counting individual pieces.
Die Milch ist kalt.
The milk is cold.
Die Eier sind frisch.
The eggs are fresh.
Der Käse ist gut.
The cheese is good.
Wie viele Äpfel sind hier?
How many apples are here?
Die Milch means milk, and der Käse means cheese. Here they are singular. Wie viele asks how many; the noun after it is plural.
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Check what you remember with 12 short questions.
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