Adjectives modify a living creature, an object, an action or a condition. They often provide more information about a noun or a pronoun.

When adjectives directly precede the noun they modify, then they follow a pattern of declension. That means that their endings change. The adjective is usually placed between the article and the noun.

There are three patterns of declension for adjectives depending on whether they are accompanied by a definite article, indefinite article or no article.

Declension of adjectives with a definite article in the dative
This chart shows you how an adjective changes its form when it follows a definite article.

Example:
Professor Zweistein ist der große Mann neben dem gelben Sportwagen!

Declension of adjectives with an indefinite article in the dative
The declension following an indefinite article also applies to the possessive determiners (possessive adjectives) "mein", "dein", "ihr", etc. and the negation article "kein". Since the indefinite article has no plural, the adjective endings are shown here using the example of "kein".

Example:
Er trägt einen Anzug mit einem weißen Hemd.

Declension of adjectives in the dative when there is no article
This pattern is common for the plural, but rare in the singular. You need it, for instance, after the ordinal numbers "two" and up.
The adjective changes to reflect the endings of definite articles.

Example:
Er trägt ein Hemd mit schwarzen Streifen.