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Activities: "German adjective endings: When and how to use them?"

By: Ulrike Carlson
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our German Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Birds, Birds Everywhere!

Today, you and your classmates are going to the aviary to learn all about the birds of Germany. Afterwards, your class has to write a little report for the school newspaper. Help out by providing the correct adjective endings — and match each bird to its description!

German
English

der Flügel

wing

der Schnabel

beak

die Brust

chest

der Ast

branch

die Wange

cheek

die Blaumeise

European Blue Tit

A photo of a small bird with a yellow breast with a black dot on it, blue on its head and back, a white face, and a black line across its eye.

das Rotkehlchen

European Robin

A photo of a mid-sized songbird. Its back is brownish-gray, and its face and breast are orange.

der Eisvogel

Common Kingfisher

A photo of a mid-sized bird with a very long bill. Its back is iridescent blue, its breast is bright orange, it has spots of cream under its chin and on its cheek, and it has a spot of orange on its cheek. Its feet are bright orange.

  • Siehst du die hellblau- Punkte (pl) auf dem dunkelblau- Flügel (m) dieses groß- Vogels (m)? Er hat einen lang- Schnabel (m) und eine orangefarben- Brust (f). Dieser Vogel heißt .

  • Dieser klein- Vogel hat einen blau-und weiß- Kopf (m) und einen grünlich- Rücken (m). Er sitzt auf einem dünn- Ast (m). Vielleicht wartet er auf ein klein- Insekt, dass er fressen kann. Dieser Vogel heißt .

  • Ein orangerot- Gesicht (n) und eine hellgrau- Wange (f) sind das Markenzeichen dieses europäisch- Vogels (m). Die leuchtend- Farbe (f) des Gesichts bildet einen schön- Kontrast (m) zu den hellbraun- Federn (pl) des Rückens. Dieser Vogel heißt .

Tip for Teachers:
A project about European wild life might be a fun activity to go with this grammar topic. Students could each research an animal found in a German-speaking country and use lots of adjectives to describe it.

Activity 2: The Pet Store

You went to the pet store to buy bird food to feed songbirds in the winter. While waiting in line you read the store advertisements. Provide the endings for the unpreceded adjectives — unpreceded adjectives are quite typical in advertisements.

Remember: If there is no article, the adjective “becomes” the article!

German
English

das Meerschweinchen

guinea pig

der Mais

corn

das Nagetier

rodent

fangen

to catch

niedlich

cute

  • Kaufen Sie frisch- Karotten (pl) für gesund- Meerschweinchen (pl)!

  • Heute neu! Lecker- Mais (m) und lecker- Gras (n) sind gut für alle Nagetiere (pl)!

  • Mit frisch- Käse fängt man Mäuse? Nein! Mäuse fressen lieber knusprig- Cracker (pl) aus unserem Laden!

  • Piep! Klein-, niedlich- Vogel (m) sucht Futter, denn kalt- Winter (pl) sind gefährlich für europäisch- Vögel (pl), die nicht in den Süden fliegen.

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