You might have realized that stating the determiners “this, that, these,” and “those” in German is a little more difficult than in other languages. This article provides you with everything you need to know to use “dies-” properly.

The demonstrative determiner “dies-”

The word “dies-” is a demonstrative determiner in German. This means we can use it instead of a noun (e.g., this one) or with a noun (e.g. this house).

In contrast to English, we need to adjust “dies-” according to the gender and case of the noun. In German grammar, the gender of a noun and its grammatical case is more critical than in other languages. You usually need to show that you know whether a noun is male, female, or neuter and also be aware of its case.

Recommended study materials on the topic:

1. A-Grammar: Practice German grammar (incl. answers)

2. German self-study book for A1-B1  (incl. answers)

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“dies-” and the German cases

Now, if you wish to use “dies-” in German properly, you need to do the following steps:

1. The gender of the noun

2. The case of the noun

In the following, you can see how to use “dies-” for each gender in every German case.

Nominative

A little early reminder: The nominative case always refers to a sentence’s subject. A subject is a person or thing that does something in your sentence. You can ask for it by using “wer” or “was” (who or what).

“dies-” in Nominative

Examples:

Accusative

The accusative case refers to the direct subject in a sentence. You can ask for it by using “wen” or “was” (whom or what).

“dies-” in Accusative

Examples:

Dative

By using the Dative case, you refer to the indirect object. This can be the place or the person for whose benefit something happens. In German, you would ask for it by using “wem” or “was” (to whom or what).

“dies-” in Dative

Examples:

Genitive

The Genitive case shows possession. Though in modern German, the Dative case replaces it more and more, you can and should still use it. However, using “dies-” in Genitive might sound a little “old-fashioned” at times.

Theoretically, you can start a sentence with “dies-” if it refers to a noun that gets “-s” or “-es” ending because that shows the possession. Yet, it will sound bizarre to many Germans, and they might assume that you read too many old books because people do not talk like this anymore.

“dies-” in Genitive

Examples:

Using “welch-”

After reading this article, I hope it became clear how to properly use “dies-.” If you want to deepen your knowledge about this topic, you should check out how to ask questions with “dies-” in German. 

Bis bald!

Steffie

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