"Das ist die letzte Stunde des Tages."
Translation:That is the last hour of the day.
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I don't get this so well... so, nouns are modified according to the article or are they like the adjective's inflection? Because in another genitive case I thought that boy would be "Junges" but it was "Jungen"...
Not sure what 'name' you are referring to. There are three inflection classes for nouns in German:
1) strong nouns (like 'der Tag')
2) weak nouns (like 'der Junge')
3) nominalised adjectives (like 'der Alte')
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_declension#Nouns Nominalised adjectives get inflected exactly like adjectives, so for them inflection also depends on the preceding article.
Oh! All right, thanks! So 'des Jungen' doesn't get the same inflection as 'des Tages', that's what I didn't understand :)
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It can be translated as class, if the synonym to lesson is meant (so an hour of a school subject).
The class as in "a group of people at school, that share most of their lessons" would be die Klasse and not "Stunde".
Also class as in "the upper class, the working classes" would also be die Klasse and not "Stunde".
Yes it means a class because classes are often a hour and a 'period' in a school is called a 'Stunde' in Germany. There is interesting history to the origins of Stunde used in this way.
A "correct translation" of "Stunde" in my case was "lesson" Now I used "Period" which in my part of the world - Scotland - means Lesson. I reported it hoping Duo will include that in the dictionary
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That is the last hour of the day. Can anyone tell me why Tages comes in plural in this sentence?
- 369
In German nouns have four cases and - like in English - singular and plural.
| Tag (day) | Singular | Plural ! |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der Tag | die Tage |
| Genitiv | des Tags* | der Tage |
| Dativ | dem Tag** | den Tagen |
| Akkusativ | den Tag | die Tage |
* often also: des Tages
** archaic: dem Tage
The same pattern can also be used for a neuter noun, although "der" and "den" become "das" in the singular.
| Bild (picture, image) | Singular | Plural ! |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | das Bild | die Bilder |
| Genitiv | des Bilds* | der Bilder |
| Dativ | dem Bild** | den Bildern |
| Akkusativ | das Bild | die Bilder |
* often also: des Bildes
** archaic: dem Bilde
Feminine nouns take no suffixes in the singular:
| Nacht (night) | Singular | Plural ! |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | die Nacht | die Nächte |
| Genitiv | der Nacht | der Nächte |
| Dativ | der Nacht | den Nächten |
| Akkusativ | die Nacht | die Nächte |
Some few masculine nouns are part of the "weak declension". You will have to learn if a noun is part of that declension.
| Bär (bear) | Singular | Plural ! |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | der Bär | die Bären |
| Genitiv | des Bären* | der Bären |
| Dativ | dem Bären | den Bären |
| Akkusativ | den Bären | die Bären |
* Some nouns of the weak declension (but not all) may also have ens in the genitive singular.
! The plural forms often have a suffix to mark the plural, but unlike in English it is not always just an "s" at the End of a word. The plural is most commonly formed with the endings -en, -er, -e , and/or by changing the stressed vowels a/o/u to "ä/ö/ü".
What the plural form of a noun is has to be learned along with the noun. There are some patterns though:
| singular | plural | example (sg.) | example (pl.) | translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -er | -er* | der Arbeiter | die Arbeiter | the workers |
| -or | -oren | der Motor | die Motoren | the engines |
| -el | -el* | der Ziegel | die Ziegel | the bricks |
| -ung | -ungen | die Abteilung | die Abteilungen | teh sections |
| -in | -innen | die Arbeiterin | die Arbeiterinnen | the workers |
| -chen | -chen | das Kätzchen | die Kätzchen | the kittens |
| -lein | -lein | das Entlein | die Entlein | the ducklings |
* if the noun is feminine, the singular and plural cannot be the same. the suffixes -er and -el will use -ern and -eln: die Leiter, die Leitern (the ladders); die Eichel, die Eicheln (the acorns). The words "Bauer" and "Mauer" (farmer and wall) will also take the -ern enging (die Bauern, die Mauern)
I've read that the Genitive case is rarely used anymore in spoken German. Could someone give me a link explaining why, and what it has been replaced by? As an English speaker, Duo's lessons seem perfectly suitable for normal speaking.
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That is true. Many people use the preposition "von" (or "von" + "dem" is "vom") and a noun in the dative instead. There are some prepositions that use the genitive case, most of which are either uncommon in casual conversations or can nowadays also use the dative case.
However, it is not the case, that you will never encounter the genitive case, especially in more formal conversations.
Are -es and -e always interchangeable, then, or is it just this particular word? "des Mannes" and "des Manns" would work too?
You probably mean "-s and -es"
Short answers: no, yes.
It does work for 'Mann' but you can't substitute 'es' everywhere. E.g. it's "des Meisters". "Des Meisteres" wouldn't work. If in doubt, your dictionary will tell.
According to the description, "es" is for most single-syllable words while only an "s" is needed for multiple syllable words. It also said that the "es" is often shortened to just the "s" in colloquial speech.
Strictly speaking "Tages" is more correct ("des" or "of the" is the clue that the word it refers to has a special ending), but "Tags" is ok too.
It doesn't (although the plural of a neuter object (and other objects) will always use die in nominative or accusative case). Where did you get the idea that it does?
Der, die, das all mean "the". Das is special, because it can also mean "that" when it is not immediately followed by a noun.
If you've mentioned the noun that you're talking about already, you can be more specific and use the gender-matching demonstrative pronoun instead.
Oh, Thx! That's what it was. So if I mentioned something feminine, I can just say"die..." In place of Das.?
I think so... but a native-speaker might be able to answer you more confidently.
