FormNomen + -er (Umlaut wenn möglich), nie feminin
Meaning and usage
Some nouns form their plural with -er, and the stem vowel takes an umlaut where it can: das Buch becomes die Bücher, das Haus becomes die Häuser, der Mann becomes die Männer. A noun with e or i in the stem only adds the ending: das Kind becomes die Kinder, das Bild becomes die Bilder.
Most of these nouns are neuter, and none are feminine. The common mistake is to forget the umlaut: die Bucher or die Hauser instead of die Bücher and die Häuser.
Examples 5
Die Kinder gehen heute an den Strand.
The children are going to the beach today.
Er schrieb drei Bücher in drei Jahren.
He wrote three books in three years.
In der Bibliothek gibt es viele Bücher.
There are a lot of books in the library.
Ich werde euch ein paar Bilder zeigen.
I will show you some pictures.
Manche Kinder gehen nicht gern zur Schule.
Some children dislike school.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Die spielen im Garten.
Show answer
Correct answer: Kinder
die and the plural verb spielen need the plural subject: die Kinder.
- Kindern is the dative plural, and this is the subject.
- Kind is singular, but spielen needs a plural subject.
- Kinds is a genitive singular form, not a plural.
In this topic: Plurals
- die + Plural the plural article for every noun
- -e: Tage, Stühle Plural in -e, often with umlaut
- -(e)n: Frauen, Lampen Plural in -n or -en, no umlaut
- -er: Kinder, Bücher Plural in -er, often with umlaut
- -s: Autos, Hotels Plural in -s for many loanwords and vowel-final nouns
- Lehrer → Lehrer, Vater → Väter Same noun, sometimes with umlaut, in the plural
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.