5.6 The dative case and the articles

Definite article

The endings for the definite article "der" in the dative case are as follows - singular endings only.

 

Merging of prepositions with the definite article

You will already have noted that certain prepositions tend to merge with the definite article - but never with the indefinite article. The following contracted forms are almost always preferred to the non-contracted forms:

 

The indefinite article

The endings for the indefinite article "ein" in the three cases which we have met so far are printed below. Note that "kein" also declines in the same way.

 

Possessive adjectives

The endings for the possessive adjectives are as follows. We have given "mein" as an example, but the others decline in the same way.

 

The only exception to this rule is the possessive adjective "euer" (= your). This possessive loses the "-e-" of its stem when it adds endings.