Nouns

Suffix:   -er

Part A - Using -er to form nouns from verbs
Part B - using -er to denote a resident of a place
Part C - Using -ler to form nouns

The suffix -er, from Latin arius, (English = -er or -ar), when affixed to verbal stems denotes the agent: erziehen, to educate; der Erzieger = educator.

Software ger230a.bas is a free program which tutors you in -er nouns. NOT INSTALLED

Exercises

Form masculine nouns in -er from the infinitive stems of the following verbs:

arbeiten, begleiten, besuchen, dienen, erzählen, fragen, führen, hören, lehren, malen, jagen", kämpfen kaufen", klagen", rauchen, rechnen, retten, fiegen, sprechen, spielen, tanzen', leiten, verkaufen', wählen, wandern, zeichnen, drucken, forchen.

kaufen" means umlaut is needed in the noun, thus käuf will be the new stem => Käufer = shopper or buyer. Notice ver (can mean away) + Käufer ==> Verkäufer = salesman

Try to do these exercises alone or with a dictionary. The solutions are provided in the table below so that you may check your work. The solutions below are by Eddleman and must be checked by a German.

ger230e.bas - click here to download this computer program which tutors you on Part A above. Notice this program tutors you in the meaning of many German infinitives. Please send more examples of infinitives which form nouns by the -er rule and I will add them into the computer program.

Reader Comments on the -er Rule:

Date: 11 Sep 98   From: Thomas_Fischnaller@arz.co.at (From Tirol, Osterreich sp??)

1.) The -er Rule doesn't work all the time. Here are some examples and comments:

• laufen = to run => der Läufer Editor: Is there any way to know when umlaut is needed?
• sitzen = to sit . There's no word "Sitzer". A male who sits is "Sitzender", a female who sits is "Sitzende" and a "Sitz" is the place to sit.
• warten = to wait. The same as with "sitzen". No "Warter", but "Wartender" or "Wartende". There is a "Wärter". But this is a male person who's e.g. at a railway station and controls the signals and switches. (Female = "Wärterin")

2.) The noun formed by the -er rule need not to be a masculine noun. Example: lesen = to read => Leser or Leserin, depending upon whether the reader is male or female.

In most of these words the feminine noun is created by adding "in" at the end.

• Leser => Leserin = the reader
• Fahrer => Fahrerin = the driver ??
• Schreiber => Schreiberin = the writer

Editor: Thomas, is the initial noun (Leser, Lehrer, Arbeiter usw) always masculine, but coverted by a second suffix to (die Leserin, die Lehrerin, die Arbeiterin)?

3) The most important rule (in my opinion) in the german language is: There's NO rule for everything.

Editor: I just noticed this combination: arbeiten => der Arbeiter => Mitarbeiterin which I guess means female coworker? Does anyone have other related combinations for this page?

PART B

The suffix -er added to place names indicates a resident of that place.

der Kölner = a man from Köln; a man from Cologne

der Berliner = a man from Berlin

die Berlinerin = a female from Berlin

See the next chapter for more about using -in to form feminine nouns.

Exercises

Using a dictionary form the masculine and femine for a resident from each of the following places.

Chicago, London, Paris, New York, Milwaukee, California, Indiana, Iowa,

Future plan: insert a table giving German city, English name of city, male resident, fem resident

PART C

A later form of -er is -ler which denotes functionary

Künst = art; der Künstler = artist

Exercises:

Form the -ler noun from the following words giving the meaning of word as above.

Find some examples and send them to this page. I do not remember any other examples!

Suggestions, corrections, and comments are appreciated: Contact Harold Eddleman indbio@disknet.com