How to figure out gender of things in quotation?

Question

In diesem Jahr hat ein amerikanischer Film d(en) "Goldenen Bären" gewonnen

The question was to fill the text in the bracketed spot. How could I have been able to identify that gender of thing in quotation is "den"?

Answer 1

If a proper noun has a normal noun as its last component, that noun determines the gender of the proper noun. If it has adjectives, they have to be declined as the noun has to.

Dieser Preis ist der „Goldene Bär“.

Sie überreicht ihm den „Goldenen Bären“.

Man gratuliert ihm zum Gewinn des „Goldenen Bären“.

Neben dem „Goldenen Bären“ hat er noch weitere Preise gewonnen.

In this case it's n-Deklination as der Bär follows that scheme.

Answer 2

You need to know the gender and the case of "Goldenen Bären". As you don't ask about the case ("gewonnen" demands accusative), II assume you know that part.

In "Goldenen Bären", "golden" is an adjective and follows the gender of the noun. "Bär" masculine, so accusative masculine singular requires "den".

As shortcut in this example, as long as the object is singular, it must be masculine or "goldenen" would be wrong. But that doesn't help outside of such exercises, because if you form a sentence yourself you have to know already that the object is masculine singular to know that "goldenen" is correct.

This singular part is important, because "die" would also be grammatically correct:

In diesem Jahr hat ein amerikanischer Film die "Goldenen Bären" gewonnen.

To distinguish this, you need the background knowledge that there is an award "der goldene Bär" (singular) and not "die goldenen Bären" (plural).