Weak, mixed and strong ending tables
The three full ending tables live in the note; the shortcuts to memorise:
etwas/nichts + strong vs alles + weak
A nominalised adjective (capitalised, neuter) follows this group, but the halves differ:
Give-away: etwas Neues (strong -es) but alles Neue (weak -e) — same adjective, different ending.
Three paradigms, one marking rule
A noun phrase marks case, gender and number once — the article or the adjective carries it:
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Bare adjective after ein/kein/mein
When ein, kein, mein have no ending (masc nom sg; neut nom/acc sg), candidates leave the adjective bare too — but it must carry the marker:
Whenever the ein-word has no ending, the adjective supplies it — the most tested mixed cell.
(s22/w22/s23/w23 P42/43 Accuracy checklist names adjective endings every sitting; specific cell is general FL trap)
Over-marking after a der-word
After a der-word the article has already marked the case, so the adjective takes only the minimal weak ending — never a strong-style one:
Once the article marks the case, the adjective must not repeat it.
(general FL trap)
alles + weak vs etwas + strong
etwas, nichts, viel, wenig and alles look like one group but split into two endings:
Learn the contrast: alles + weak (alles Gute), etwas/nichts/viel/wenig + strong (etwas Wichtiges).
Strong dative with no article: -em
With no article, the adjective alone marks the case (strong paradigm). Strong dative masc/neut is -em, not -en:
Don't confuse it with the weak/mixed dative -en — with no article, the dative masc/neut ending is -em.
(general FL trap)
Strong genitive: -en, not -es
In the strong paradigm (no article) the masc/neut genitive is -en, not -es — because the noun already carries the genitive -s:
The one strong cell that breaks the der-word pattern — memorise it.
(general FL trap)
Mixed dative falls back to weak -en
Mixed differs from weak in only three cells (masc nom; neut nom/acc). Everywhere else — including the whole dative — mixed = weak = -en:
Once ein shows an ending, the adjective is back to weak -en.
(general FL trap)
Adjective endings are grammar, not decoration
English adjectives never change, so candidates pick an ending that "sounds right" rather than deriving it from article + case + gender + number:
Exactly one of them must carry it.
Bare ein-word → adjective carries the marker
Most tested cell: when ein/kein/mein shows no ending (masc nom sg; neut nom/acc sg), the adjective is the ONLY marker, so it is never left bare — ein guter Mann. If the ein-word does show an ending (einem, einer…), the adjective falls back to weak -en.
Chained adjectives share one ending
Two or more adjectives before one noun ALL take the same ending for that case/gender/number — decide it once:
Article? Which type? Then case/gender
Ask three questions for any adjective:
A German noun phrase (article + adjective + noun) must mark its case, gender and number exactly once. Depending on what article (if any) comes before the adjective, either the article carries that marker or the adjective does. This gives three paradigms.
1. Weak endings — after a der-word (der, dieser, jeder, welcher, jener, mancher, solcher). The article already marks case/gender/number, so the adjective ending is minimal.
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