Echtem

Echtem is the dative singular form of the German adjective echt, meaning real or genuine. In German grammar it represents the strong declension of an adjective when there is no determiner before a masculine or neuter noun and the phrase is in the dative case. The form signals that the noun is in the dative, masculine or neuter, without an article preceding it.

Usage and examples include phrases such as mit echtem Geld, mit echtem Mann, and mit echtem Auto. These illustrate how echtem appears in the dative after prepositions that require the dative case or in contexts without a determiner. By contrast, when a determiner is present, the ending of the adjective changes. For example, with an indefinite article you would typically see mit einem echten Auto (not echtem), and with a definite article in dative you would have dem echten Auto.

Notes on form and meaning: echtem does not form a separate word with its own meaning; it is the inflected counterpart of echt used to indicate case, gender, and number in a sentence. The common contrast forms for this adjective family in other cases include echte (nominative or accusative feminine and plural) and echten (masculine or neuter plural or as the weak ending after determiners). Echtem thus occupies a specific, context-dependent slot in German adjective declension.