"The girl did not eat fish today."

Translation: Das Mädchen hat heute keinen Fisch gegessen.

[elae]

"heute" should come before "keinen Fisch" in the German translation.

[wataya]

Yes, it should indeed.

[abcdedbca]

Und was mit 'hat heute den Fisch nicht gegessen"?

[elae]

That would be talking about a specific fish, rather than fish in general.

[abcdedbca]

OK, thank you.

[whenturtlesfly]

Aßen = ate; haben gegessen = have/had eaten: is that correct?

[elae]

Not quite. German has two past tenses-- one is written (in a novel, for example) and one is spoken. "haben gegessen" is spoken, "aßen" is written.

[wataya]

Just to clarify: both past tense forms can be used in written and in spoken language. It's just that people rarely use the preterite in spoken language. In written German, both forms are used. So I think it's a bit misleading calling one 'spoken' and the other one 'written'.

[whenturtlesfly]

Thanks, wataya! Is there a reason preterite isn't spoken as often? Does it sound too formal or is the other form more slang?

[wataya]

I don't know why. It's just the way people use the language. The perfect form is not slang. Using the preterite in spoken German often sounds a bit formal. Whether it sounds formal because people don't normally use it or whether people don't normally use it because it sounds formal, I can't tell :) I guess it's a positive feedback loop. BTW: it's the same in French with the imparfait.

[whenturtlesfly]

Thank you for the help! :)

[whenturtlesfly]

Thank you for your reply. I wouldn't have known without your help!