Is it der, die oder das Praktikum?

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 Praktikum?

How does the declension of Praktikum 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] Activity of trainees in companies outside education, but often in the context of a further education, to gain insights into the professional world

[2] Course at a Training Institute (University, University of Applied Sciences) for the purpose of practical application and the practice of the theoretically learned

[1] An vielen Schulen erhalten Schüler regelmäßig die Möglichkeit, für eine gewisse Zeit ein Praktikum in einem Betrieb ihrer Wahl zu absolvieren.

[1] „Durch ein Praktikum hätte ich immerhin schon einmal einen Einblick in den Parlamentsalltag erhalten.“[3]

[1] [Pferdewirt/-in:] „Obwohl Roxana schon Erfahrung in einem Reitstall gesammelt hatte, war es nicht leicht die Ausbildungsstelle zu bekommen. Schließlich schaffte sie es mit einem Praktikum.“[4]

[1, 2] „Während mein Onkel in Russland plötzlich auf der Straße stand und seine Familie zu ernähren hatte, absolvierte mein Vater einen Deutschkurs, der ihm ebenso gezahlt wurde wie ein Praktikum zur Umschulung.“[5]

[2] Viele Studenten müssen während ihres Studiums auch Praktika besuchen, z.B. in den Labors.

[2] „Für Abiturienten gilt meistens noch die Sonderregelung, daß sie bis zum sechsten Semester neben den üblichen Praktika eine sechswöchige fachpraktische Ausbildung nachweisen müssen.“[6]