Is it der, die oder das Motiv?
DAS
The correct article in German of Motiv is das. So it is das Motiv! (nominative case)
The word Motiv is neuter, therefore the correct article is das.
Finding the right gender of a noun
German articles are used similarly to the English articles,a and the. However, they are declined differently (change) according to the number, gender and case of their nouns.
In the German language, the gender and therefore article is fixed for each noun.
The most difficult part of learning the German language is the articles (der, die, das) or rather the gender of each noun. The gender of each noun in German has no simple rule. In fact, it can even seem illogical. For example das Mädchen, a young girl is neutral while der Junge, a young boy is male.
It is a good idea to learn the correct article for each new word together - even if it means a lot of work. For example learning "der Hund" (the dog) rather than just Hund by itself. Fortunately, there are some rules about gender in German that make things a little easier. It might be even nicer if these rules didn't have exceptions - but you can't have everything! The best way to learn them is with the App - Der-Die-Das Train! (available for iOS and Android)
German nouns belong either to the gender masculine (male, standard gender) with the definite article der, to the feminine (feminine) with the definite article die, or to the neuter (neuter) with the definite article das.
for masculine: points of the compass, weather (Osten, Monsun, Sturm; however it is: das Gewitter), liquor/spirits (Wodka, Wein, Kognak), minerals, rocks (Marmor, Quarz, Granit, Diamant);
for feminine: ships and airplanes (die Deutschland, die Boeing; however it is: der Airbus), cigarette brands (Camel, Marlboro), many tree and plant species (Eiche, Pappel, Kiefer; aber: der Flieder), numbers (Eins, Million; however it is: das Dutzend), most inland rivers (Elbe, Oder, Donau; aber: der Rhein);
for neutrals: cafes, hotels, cinemas (das Mariott, das Cinemaxx), chemical elements (Helium, Arsen; however it is: der Schwefel, masculine elements have the suffix -stoff), letters, notes, languages and colors (das Orange, das A, das Englische), certain brand names for detergents and cleaning products (Ariel, Persil), continents, countries (die artikellosen: (das alte) Europa; however exceptions include: der Libanon, die Schweiz …).
German declension of Motiv?
How does the declension of Motiv work in the nominative, accusative, dative and genitive cases? Here you can find all forms in the singular as well as in the plural:
| 1 | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | das Motiv | die Motive |
| Genitive | des Motivs | der Motive |
| Dative | dem Motiv | den Motiven |
| Akkusative | das Motiv | die Motive |
What is the meaning of Motiv in German?
Motiv has various definitions in German:
[1] The incentive or reason for an action, especially for a criminal offense
[1] der Anreiz oder Grund für eine Handlung, speziell für eine Straftat[2] Music: The smallest building block of a musical topic
[2] Musik: kleinster Baustein eines musikalischen Themas[3] Photography, painting: Subject of a picture
[3] Fotografie, Malerei: Gegenstand eines Bildes[4] Mathematics: an algebraic structure
[4] Mathematik: eine algebraische Struktur[5] Literature: Repeatable, meaningful content unit
[5] Literaturwissenschaft: wiederholbare, bedeutungsvolle InhaltseinheitHow to use Motiv in a sentence?
Example sentences in German using Motiv with translations in English.
[1] Das Motiv für den Mord war Eifersucht.
[1] The motif for the murder was jealousy[2] Berlioz verwendet in seiner Symphonie fantastique ein Motiv, das in jedem der Sätze auftaucht.
[2] Berlioz uses a motif in his Symphony Fantastique that appears in each of the sentences[3] Das Motiv des Bildes ist eine Obstschale.
[3] The motif of the picture is a fruit shell[3] „Die außen- und innenpolitischen Herausforderungen waren so groß, dass der Staat erst nach und nach Briefmarken mit neuen Motiven ausgab.“
[3] "The external and domestic challenges were so great that the state was only gradually issuing stamps with new motifs"[4] SS 2008: Oberseminar: Motive und algebraische Geometrie
[4] SS 2008: Ober Seminar: Motifs and algebraic geometry[5] „In einer einflussreichen Vorlesung von 1962 hat der Philosoph Joachim Ritter das mit Petrarca einsetzende Motiv des Blicks vom Berge als Ausdruck neuzeitlicher Subjektivität gedeutet.“
[5] "In an influential lecture from 1962, the philosopher Joachim Ritter interpreted the motive of the view from the mountains as an expression of modern subjectivity" in Petrarca "How do you pronounce Motiv?
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