Writing Exercise-Gender of Nouns

1. Choose the noun whose gender doesn’t fit.
   a. Brötchen, Kindchen, Häschen, Rasen
   b. Gemeinschaft, Nachbarschaft, Gesellschaft, Schaft
   c. BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Harley
   d. Universität, Zeitung, Funktion, Lehrling 

2. Read the following sentences, and enter “der Junge” or “die Jungen.”
   a. _______ spielen im Garten. 
   b. _______ heisst Tobi. 
   c. _______ gehen zum Supermarkt. 
   d. _______ sind in der Schule.

3. Look up singular masculine nouns with the following endings and find their plural forms. (Note: there are obviously many options.) 
   a. ‘-en’ : _________
   b. ‘-ling’: ________
   c. ‘ist’: _________
   d. ‘-el’: ________

4. True or false?
   a. “Brötchen” is a feminine noun. 
   b. Only singular feminine nouns use the definite article “die.”
   c. Masculine and neutral nouns both use the indefinite pronoun “ein.”
   d. Car brands are usually masculine. 

Answers:

1. a) der  Rasen (lawn), is the only masculine noun. All others are neutral 
    b) der Schaft (shaft), is the only masculine noun. All others are feminine
    c) die Harley (the Harley). Motorcycle brands are usually feminine. All others are masculine
   d) der Lehrling (the apprentice) is the only masculine noun. All others are feminine

2. a) Die Jungen   b) der Junge   c) Die Jungen   d) Die Jungen

3. a) der Kuchen    b) der Lehrling   c) der Pianist     d) der Apfel

4. a) False. “-chen” is usually neutral. “das Brötchen”
    b) False. All nouns take the definite article “die” in the plural
   c) True. Example: der Mann/ein Mann, das Kind/ein Kind
   d) True. Example: der BMW, der Audi, etc. 

Vocabulary:
das Brötchen (-) – the roll, bun
das Kindchen (-) – the little child
das Häschen (-) – the little bunny
der Rasen (-) – the lawn
die Gemeinschaft (en) – the community
die Nachbarschaft(en)  – the neighborhood
die Gesellschaft(en) – the society
der Schaft(en) – the shaft
die Universität(en) – the university
die Zeitung(en) – the newspaper
die Funktion(en) – the function
der Lehrling(e) – the apprentice