Order of cases in paradigm

So many aspects of German grammar are presented in the form of paradigms, as for example the following paradigm for the definite article.

Not all books use this order of the cases when setting out such paradigms. NAGD is the traditional order in the Anglo-Saxon world and the one adhered to here. In Germany, where there is a long tradition of learning Latin and Greek at school, the order NGDA is traditionally used, as this is the order most usual in the learning of classical languages.

This order is also the explanation for the cases commonly being called in German der erste, zweite, dritte and vierte Fall respectively, e.g. Direktor steht im dritten Fall – Direktor is in the dative case Some textbooks for beginners adopt the order NADG, which is the order in which you normally learn the cases, as the genitive is usually regarded as the most difi cult case to learn as well as being the least common.

Some textbooks also apply the order MNF to genders instead of the usual MFN when setting out paradigms like the above. This can be very confusing so be on the lookout for variation in this respect from book to book.