Singular plurals
Sometimes, there are singular nouns in German which are plural in English.
- die Brille (f) – glasses
Die Brille war kaputt. – The glasses were broken.
Not *die Brillen waren kaputt using the plural form of the verb
- die Polizei (f) – the police (usually plural in English)
Die Polizei ist da. – The police are here.
Not *die Polizei sind da
- das Feuerwerk (nt) – the fireworks
Das Feuerwerk war wunderbar. – The fireworks were wonderful.
However, the direct opposite is true with other nouns, where an English singular is plural in German:
- die Möbel (pl) – the furniture
Die Möbel sind sehr alt – The furniture is very old
Not *Die Möbel ist sehr alt
- die USA (pl) – the USA
Die USA sind ein sehr schönes Land. – The USA is a very beautiful country.
Not *die USA ist ein sehr schönes Land
Some words are always plural in German. There is no singular form for the following nouns:
- die Eltern – parents
- die Ferien – holidays, vacation
- die Leute – people
Did you know?
In Germany, die Polizei are divided into two main types.
Die Kriminalpolizei, or Kripo for short, deal with serious crimes such as murder, assault, rape or grand theft. Like detectives in the UK, they do not wear a uniform. Die Schutzpolizei or Schupo for short, deal with traffic offences and minor disputes.
The traditional uniform worn by the Schupo was green and beige until the end of 2008. Dark blue uniforms are now worn everywhere apart from in Bavaria and Saarland, where the traditional colours are still worn. Most police cars are now blue and silver.
The federal criminal agency – die Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) – is similar to the FBI in America, and die Bundespolizei is responsible for the protection of Germany’s borders as well as counter-terrorism, safe-guarding federal government buildings and providing security for air and rail travel amongst other things.
The emergency number – Notruf – to call the police in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is 112.
