These are so-called Artikelwörter in German, because they act like and take the same endings as definite or indefinite articles. They are sometimes called determiners in English, because they determine more specifically the meaning of the noun they are used with.
The der-words are sometimes called dieser-words.They are:
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der, die, das, die |
the; that |
solcher* |
such a, such |
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dieser,-e,-es,-e |
this |
mancher* |
many a, many |
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jeder (pl. alle) |
each, every |
jener* |
that, yon |
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aller (usually pl.) |
each, every; all (pl) |
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welcher |
which, what |
*given for reference only |
The ein-words include, ein, kein and all possessive adjectives:
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ein, eine, ein, -- |
a, an |
kein,-e,-,-e |
no, not any, not…a |
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Possessive adjectives (agree with the word they describe): |
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mein,-e,-,-e |
my |
unser |
our |
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dein (to a du-person) |
your |
euer (to ihr-people) |
your |
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sein |
his |
ihr |
their |
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ihr |
her |
Ihr (to a Sie-person or -people) |
your |
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sein |
its |
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The der-words and ein-words share the same endings except for those in the pink boxes below:
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Subject Completion Nominative Case |
dies-er |
dies-e |
dies-es |
dies-e |
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kein__ |
mein__ |
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In other words, ein-words have NO ENDING in the forms listed above in the pink boxes.
Note that the -er of unser and euer is NOT an ending! Endings are added to the entire words unser and euer. When an ending is added to these two words, the -e- before the fina -r often is dropped, especially in the case of euer: mit unsrem (or unserem) Vater, für eure Oma.