Questions tagged [definite-article]
relating to a determiner (der, die, das, des, dem, or den) that introduces a noun phrase and implies that the thing mentioned has already been mentioned, or is common knowledge, or is about to be defined.
82
questions
0
votes
2
answers
204
views
What are participial constructions meant to convey in German?
I am reading a book on sociology, and I find that many times, a long gap is kept between the definite article and the noun. I had previously enquired about translating it here. However, I am still ...
- 1,490
3
votes
2
answers
212
views
Why is a definite article required here?
In conversation with 2 native German speakers, I wanted to translate the following:
At least that’s what old lady Calvin told me just before we left.
I said:
Zumindest ist es das, was mir alte Frau ...
- 3,889
2
votes
3
answers
230
views
Definite article before a (mathematical) topic's name
I will leap in with two translations by DeepL:
First translation
Input:
Linear regression is a powerful tool.
Output:
Die lineare Regression ist ein leistungsfähiges Instrument.
Second translation
...
- 287
0
votes
1
answer
37
views
Definite article in middle of Hauptsatz [duplicate]
Entstanden ist der Teufelsberg nämlich ab 1950 aus den Stücken der im Zweiten Weltkrieg zerbombten Berliner Häuser.
What roles does "der" play in the above sentence? I would say it is a ...
- 1,490
3
votes
3
answers
651
views
Grammatical Structure of "ins"
Lass uns ins sonnige Griechenland fahren!
What excactly is "ins" here? In + das ? We have Griechenland as feminine.
Danke!
- 33
1
vote
1
answer
121
views
When must one qualify Menschheit with diese rather than die?
Translating from I, Robot by Asimov with a German-speaking friend, I said:
Die meisten Regierungen weltweit verboten Robotereinsatz auf der Erde von 2003 bis 2007, aus irgendeinem anderen Grund außer ...
- 3,889
0
votes
1
answer
79
views
Sind Passivkonstruktionen in denen das Subjekt nicht vollständig realisiert wurde grammatikalisch richtig?
In einem Interview habe ich sehr häufig Aussagen erhalten, in denen das Subjekt nicht vollständig realisiert wurde. Gezeigt wurden transitive Ereignisse, auf die die Probanden mit Passivkonstruktionen ...
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
117
views
in vs im "Du musst im Bett bleiben"
Why is it grammatically incorrect to say the following sentence:
Du musst in Bett bleiben.
when I'm trying to say
You have to stay in bed.
Why must one use im instead of in in this situation?
- 169
1
vote
1
answer
174
views
Understanding relation between different versions of relative pronouns
In this article it is explained how wo-words can be used as relative pronouns but when reading it I am a bit confused due to the previous knowledge I have with definite article being used relative ...
- 1,490
0
votes
2
answers
252
views
Why does this sentence start with the dative article "Dem"?
Reading the book "Kielings kleine Waldschule" the paragraph starts with this sentence
"Dem Interesse an der Natur einerseits, das ich zum Beispiel bei meinen Facebook-Followern ...
- 645
6
votes
2
answers
894
views
Definite articles before countries [duplicate]
Is Geneva a city in Switzerland or in Austria?
T: Ist Genf eine Stadt in der Schweiz oder in Österreich?
Why is there a "der" before Schweiz but not before Österreich? Secondly, perhaps ...
- 1,490
0
votes
0
answers
46
views
That and the demonstrative pronouns [duplicate]
I'm missing something, perhaps is the understanding of demonstrative pronouns. In (from youtube) That is Peter. or
Das ist Peter.
Das is being used as a demonstrative pronoun, right? But the case, is ...
- 409
0
votes
1
answer
92
views
When does definite article denote possesion?
die kirche des allmächtigen gottes
I read the above as "The church the almighty god" but if you plug this into google translate, you get:
The Church of Almighty God
Now, why does 'des' ...
- 1,490
2
votes
1
answer
108
views
Meaning of "der" in a sentence
What does the second der mean in the following sentence?
Einzig der Fluss Kabul, so heißt übrigens auch die Hauptstadt von Afghanistan, fließt in den Indus und der mündet am Schluss in den Indischen ...
- 516
3
votes
1
answer
545
views
3 verbs in one sentence - how is that?
Kann ich mir die im Laufe der Woche ausleihen holen kommen?
A friend of mine wrote this sentence. I have never come across 3 verbs in a single sentence like this.
One more thing: Why and when to use ...
- 219
2
votes
1
answer
482
views
(when) Can I omit the definite article?
On the Complete German Grammar premium 2nd ed, pg 41 book I read
...when expressing one's profession or nationality, an article is not used...
And soon after I saw
Er hat Schuhe
without the ...
- 409
0
votes
1
answer
114
views
Trying to translate a sentence into German
Fear, intimidation, and violence. These are the tools of the nefarious scoundrel known as the modern day criminal.
The following is my attempt at the translation:
Angst, Einschüchterung, und Gewalt. ...
1
vote
2
answers
114
views
When is the masculine "der" the English "of"?
I have seen that in German, sometimes the definite masculine article "der" is used as the English word "of". For example in the film "Das Leben der Anderen". I understand ...
- 129
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
Using definite article instead of pronouns [duplicate]
I've tried searching for this, as I know it's quite a simple question, but I'm probably not using the correct terms.
I'm relatively new in learning German, and I often see things like the following:
&...
- 11
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
When are parts of the body personal, and when not?
I read the following in a description a patient's visit to the doctor.
Der Arzt schaut in ihre Augen, ihren Mund, und in die Ohren.
Why die Ohren but ihre Augen?
- 1,407
1
vote
2
answers
191
views
Articles with names in "Heidi", Spyri's regional accent (Followup to previous questions linked in body)
In chapter 1 of "Heidi", Dete and her old acquaintance Barbel are leading Heidi up the mountain to meet her grandfather. The author, Johanna Spyri, starts talking about die Dete and die ...
- 9,259
3
votes
2
answers
190
views
An die Freude - why "die"?
In his poem "Ode an die Freude", why did Schiller use the definite article? Why not just "an Freude"?
-1
votes
2
answers
698
views
Why does German use definite articles before nouns whereas in English, there wouldn't be?
I've noticed from titles of songs and poems, a definite article is used such as:
'An die Hoffnung'
'An die Freude'
'An die Musik'
A few websites give examples of the use of definite ...
- 11
-1
votes
2
answers
89
views
The inflection of "dies-" when "dies-" is used after "all-" (2 adjective; alle diese Bestrebungen…)
I have learnd the inflection of "all-".
It is a kind of definite article(I'm not meaning that it is a definite article), so its inflection as adjective is..
m. n. f. pl.
er es e e
es es er er
em ...
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Steht vor einem Firmennamen ein Artikel, wenn die Rechtsform weggelassen wird?
Beispiel
Nehmen wir an, die Firma heißt Buntstifte KG, aber in diesen Sätzen wurde ihre Rechtsform weggelassen. Sollte jetzt vor dem Firmennamen ein Artikel stehen?
Buntstifte ist eines der ...
- 385
3
votes
1
answer
120
views
jmdn. ärgern in a sentence
I've recently seen the sentence with the verb ärgern while learning relative clauses with wer and was. The sentence is as follows:
Manche kommen spät zur Arbeit, was der Chef sehr ärgert.
As you ...
- 586
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Schweiz oder die Schweiz?
A recent Slow German Podcast has the following sentence:
Vor allem in Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein.
I thought that some countries, including Switzerland, always include an ...
user38158
5
votes
2
answers
245
views
Akkusativ oder Nominativ und Formulierung bei einer Bestellung
Als ich in einem Hotel war, hat mich die Kellnerin gefragt, ob ich etwas trinken möchte. Ich habe auf Englisch geantwortet:
"A cappuccino, please"
und ich war mir nicht sicher, wie ich das auf ...
- 161
6
votes
1
answer
155
views
"Er ist Geschäftsführer des Unternehmens" oder "Er ist der Geschäftsführer des Unternehmens" - what is correct?
I know, that there is a rule, that occupations are without articles. So, we are writing: "Er ist Arzt".
I have found couple of example on internet, like:
"Er ist der Geschäftsführer des ...
- 71
1
vote
1
answer
114
views
Is "als Kind gerne" an idiom?
In the Slow German podcast #185, she has
Alexander beschäftigte sich als Kind gerne mit Insekten, Steinen und Pflanzen.
I translate "als Kind gerne" as, "as children are want to do". But a more ...
user38158
5
votes
1
answer
158
views
Why 'Den' instead of 'Der' in this sentence? Den größten Fehler, den man im Leben machen kann
Den größten Fehler, den man im Leben machen kann, ist, immer Angst zu
haben, einen Fehler zu machen.
This is translated into
The biggest mistake you can make in life is always being afraid of
...
- 2,793
3
votes
3
answers
704
views
Why is George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" titled "Das Lied von Eis und Feuer" in German instead of "Ein Lied von Eis und Feuer"?
This change always bothered me.
Is there a rule in German that prevents book titles from starting with an indefinite article?
0
votes
1
answer
192
views
Declension ending "-er" of the adjective Berliner [duplicate]
Why does
die Berliner Mauer
use the adjective with ending -er? Why isn't it
die Berline Mauer
This should be right, but it is not. Why?
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
24
views
article used in place of possesive pronoun [duplicate]
I've stumbled on a construction that confused me in Kafka's Die Verwandlung where a definite article is used where I would expect to see a possessive pronoun.
wenn er den Kopf ein wenig hob
...
- 91
4
votes
3
answers
105
views
(Die) Menschen sind entspannter in St. Petersburg
Wie kann ich einer Tandempartnerin erklären, warum man im folgenden letzten Satz den Artikel "Die" nicht weglassen darf?
"Die Uhren gehen in St. Petersburg etwas langsamer. Die Menschen sind ...
- 41
6
votes
3
answers
244
views
Kann man auf *der* ganzen Linie enttäuschen?
Die ARD schreibt in einem Sportbeitrag "enttäuschten auf der ganzen Linie". Die Linie wurde mit einem bestimmten Artikel versehen. Ich kenne es eigentlich nur unbestimmt, also: "enttäuschten auf ...
- 2,963
3
votes
1
answer
114
views
Definite article vs. possessive pronoun when indicating actions
What’s the difference between using a definite article and a possessive pronoun to indicate actions (and possibly other things, if applicable)? For example, is there any difference between using die ...
- 1,527
2
votes
2
answers
64
views
Need for definite article in plurals
Sometimes, in German, I want to describe a plural of an objects for instance:
Die Delphine können mit den Menschen in gewisser Weise kommunizieren.
Dolphins are able to maintain certain ...
- 1,297
2
votes
2
answers
118
views
Why need the definite article "Robin Hood lebte im Sherwoodwald"
I was reading a history book on the topic of Robin Hood and the following line was in it:
Robin Hood lebte im Sherwoodwald
Now, I know that this sentence translates to roughly
Robin Hood lived ...
- 335
3
votes
1
answer
193
views
use of definite article after "neben"
I'm just a bit stuck with this sentence:
Ich werde mir das Doppelhaus neben dem meines Bruders kaufen.
I can translate this to be:
I will buy myself the house next to my brothers.
The use of ...
- 1,297
3
votes
1
answer
122
views
Feminine Definite Article
Die Lampe ist klasse, sie ist nicht langweilig.
Why is there sie after the comma, is that sie for lampe (die Lampe).
user34265
3
votes
2
answers
740
views
Definite / Nullartikel with general notions
I'm a young scholar in Germany, who is non-native speaker. I dare to say that I'm fluent in German.
I'm currently working on my thesis and came across such cases of article usage, where one cannot say ...
- 41
6
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Den Männern vs Die Männer
So I am reading a grammar book, and there are a couple of tables which seem to contradict.
One table states: "The plural forms of the definite article are the same for all genders," and proceeds to ...
- 73
7
votes
3
answers
361
views
Definite articles for 1st person singular
I know this is a bit contrived, but with literature about clones and time travel and parallel universes, this is bound to come up.
I traveled to 1995, and the I that I saw was not the I I remember ...
- 459
4
votes
1
answer
648
views
Definite articles - cities, lakes
I read the following title in one of the newspapers:
Neue Parkvorschriften im Simbacher Ortskern
In my workbook it says that town names do not have a definite article if they are unmodified - so ...
- 41
0
votes
2
answers
141
views
Johannes Nazaräer? (Articles)
The Nazarener were a 19th century German religious art movement. Preferring Nazaräer to Nazarener (because Nazarener is commonly thought to derive etymologically from the geographical Nazaret), how ...
- 123
3
votes
2
answers
134
views
"ob mit oder ohne Null"
Should we add an article and, if so, in which case:
Für Demonstrationszwecke ist es in diesem Beispiel irrelevant, dass wir die natürlichen Zahlen – ob mit oder ohne [die/der] Null – als zu ...
user32430
1
vote
1
answer
269
views
"verschiedene" vs. "die unterschiedliche"
A corrector corrrected my
Grafische Darstellungen der Programme laufen Gefahr unterschiedlicher Interpretationen bei verschiedenen Betrachtern.
zu
Grafische Darstellungen der Programme laufen ...
user32430
4
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why is "den" used in "am Montag, den 10. August''?
This question also has an answer here (in German):
Am Samstag, dem/den
It's more logical to me to be "am Montag, dem 10. August" since without specifying Monday, I would say "am 10. August" ...
- 195
8
votes
4
answers
486
views
Warum „Das ist der Bus, …“, wenn es doch „der Bus“ ist?
Ich habe es so gelernt:
Da kommt ein Bus.
Der ist nicht der Bus, den wir nehmen.
Er ist nicht der Bus, den wir nehmen.
Das ist nicht der Bus, den wir nehmen.
Warum sagt man nicht „...
- 411