Deutsch · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Clothes
Describe what someone is wearing with tragen and an accusative object.
Understand the choice
Clothing descriptions bring together color, noun gender, and the strong verb tragen. Begin with the item, then add color and context such as weather or occasion.
Core rule: Tragen takes an accusative object; adjective endings appear before nouns.
Notice it in context
Heute trägt Mia eine blaue Jacke und schwarze Schuhe.
Today Mia is wearing a blue jacket and black shoes.
Trägt has the a→ä vowel change; eine blaue agrees with feminine accusative Jacke.
Im Winter trage ich einen warmen Mantel.
In winter I wear a warm coat.
Einen and warmen mark masculine accusative Mantel.
Die Mütze passt zu den schwarzen Schuhen.
The cap matches the black shoes.
Zu requires dative; plural den triggers schwarzen and Schuhen.
What to remember
- Die Hose is singular in German even when English says trousers.
- Schuhe is the ordinary plural of der Schuh.
Common trap: Do not use sein for “is wearing.” German normally uses tragen or anhaben.