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I am starting to learn German and I'm trying out Duolingo, I've faced this problem several times. If I understand correctly "sie" means both she and they. So if there is no context, can I distinguish between the both? See this example:
Could I have known which one does it refer to? How do you do it normally, by context and only context? I know that they are always pronounced the same. |
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In each case you conjugate the verb differently. Here the verb is sein meaning to be.
She is bad.
They are bad. Although to add to the confusion here, there is yet another pronoun Sie meaning you in the plural or polite form. In the middle of a sentence you can see that it is capitalized but in spoken German or in the above examples there is ambiguity. "Sie sind schlecht." could also mean "You are bad." This can only be distinguished by context. |
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To keep the explanation simple: If "sie" comes with a verb in singular, it means she. If "sie" comes with a verb in plural, it means they. |
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There's one more option apart from those explained in the fellow answers, namely a change in gender in translation: Considering your example
the correct answer might as well have been
if the object in question is some kind of fruit, for example. In English, you speak of orange and lemon as neuter, whereas in German you use feminine gender for both Apfelsine and Zitrone. |
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