just to clarify if we go by the historical classification we have the following declension classes for strong nouns masculine a wa ia ja i and u stems plus a few relics of consonant stems feminine w j i and i stems plus a few irregularities leftovers from the consonant classes and the word h nd which is the sole feminine survivor of the u class neutral a wa ia and ja stems plus the relic f u class those are all declension classes the weak nouns then have a system of their own i hope this answered the question regarding the article when and how it is suffixed is another chapter all the best