Mixed declension of adjectives
(The mixed inflection of German adjectives)
When do German adjectives follow the mixed declension?
The mixed declension of adjectives is another type of inflection that exists besides the strong and weak one in German grammar. Comparable to the weak declension, the mixed form of inflecting occurs when an adjective precedes a noun and a specific determiner is used in front of the same adjective (for example: mein neuer Wagen). Compare the following examples:
- As the rule states, one of the following determiners must be placed before the respective adjective, which follows the mixed declension:
- mein (my), dein (your), sein (his), ihr (her, their), euer (your), unser (our)
- ein (a/an)
- indefinite article
- kein (no)
- Watch out: Only in the singular. Otherwise, the weak declension takes place.
- irgendein (some, any)
- Sample sentences including adjectives that are inflected the mixed way:
- „Hast du irgendeine gute Idee?“ (Do you have any good ideas?)
- feminine noun, singular, accusative
- „Das ist aber kein großes Kunststück!“ (That’s not much of a trick.)
- neuter noun, singular, nominative
- „Mein neues Auto hat Sitzheizung.“ (My new car has heated seats.)
- neuter noun, singular, nominative
- „Unsere neuen Nachbarn sind sehr nett.“ (Our new neighbours are very friendly.)
- masculine noun, plural, nominative
- „Hast du irgendeine gute Idee?“ (Do you have any good ideas?)
How do adjectives follow the mixed declension?
If adjectives appear with one of the determiners ‘kein, mein, dein, sein, ihr, euer, unser, irgendein,’ or ‘ein’ (which stands for ‘one’ and cannot be utilized in the plural) before the noun, they follow the mixed inflection when they are in the singular. Compare the table overview below:
- Information: Choosing the correct case is essential for the mixed declension. If you have trouble deciding whether to use the nominative, genitive, dative or accusative case, look at How to determine the grammatical cases. There you will also find the necessary questions to make the identification easier.
Singular
| Grammatical case | With masculine noun | With feminine noun | With neuter noun |
| Nominative | ein schneller Schritt (a quick step) | seine tiefe Stimme (his low voice) | unser neues Auto (our new car) |
| Genitive | eines schnellen Schrittes | seiner tiefen Stimme | unseres neuen Autos |
| Dative | einem schnellen Schritt | seiner tiefen Stimme | unserem neuen Auto |
| Accusative | einen schnellen Schritt | seine tiefe Stimme | unser neues Auto |
Plural
The plural formation offers a much simpler pattern. In all grammatical cases and genders, the plural forms end in ‘-en’ (similar to the weak declension in the plural). Remember that it is only possible to use the article ‘ein’ in the singular.
| Grammatical case | With masculine noun | With feminine noun | With neuter noun |
| Nominative | ihre schnellen Schritte (their quick steps) | unsere tiefen Stimmen (our low voices) | seine neuen Autos (his new cars) |
| Genitive | ihrer schnellen Schritte | unserer tiefen Stimmen | seiner neuen Autos |
| Dative | ihren schnellen Schritten | unseren tiefen Stimmen | seinen neuen Autos |
| Accusative | ihre schnellen Schritte | unsere tiefen Stimmen | seine neuen Autos |
Further explanations relating to the ‘Mixed adjective declension’
The following explanations are related to the topic ‘German mixed declension of adjectives’ and could also be interesting: