1

ich würde gerne neue Gartenstühle kaufen. Unsere alten gefallen mir nicht.

In this sentence, why in the second sentence adjective (alten) ending -en, not -e. There is no noun after adjektive is it because of that? If there was noun there alten should be alte right? Can someone explain please?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

It's an ellipsis.

Unsere alten (Gartenstühle) gefallen mir nicht.

In English, you had to insert ones. Such a thing is neither required nor possible in German.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    I think you can omit "ones" in English if using it would create a repetition: "We bought some more garden chairs; I like the new ones but dislike the old." With a capital A "Alten" it would be a substantivised adjective. That doesn't seem to work in this case, but it's certainly possible in other contexts
    – RDBury
    Jun 30 at 15:34
  • In German you can use "solch" for english "one", although it often sounds awkward and artificial: usere alten solchen gefallen mir nicht. To paraphrase the slogan of the "Neue Frankfurter Schule": Die schärfsten Kritiker der Molche waren oftmals eben solche" (The sharpest critics of the salamanders often were ones themselves.)
    – bakunin
    Jul 4 at 22:34

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.