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- Topic: German >
- "Das ist kein Apfel."
52 Comments
what is the difference between kein/keine and nicht? when we use nicht instead of kein?
Das ist nicht ein Apfel: That is not an apple
Das ist kein Apfel: That is no apple
There's not really a difference between kein/keine and nicht You use kein or keine depending on what gender the word has, where is it uses in a sentence and if it is plural or not
Man:
kein Mann - no man
keines Mannes - of no man
zu keinem Mann - to no man
durch keinen Mann - by no man
Woman:
keine Frau - no woman
keiner Frau - of no woman
zu keiner Frau - to no woman
durch keine Frau - by no woman
Child:
kein Kind - no child
keines Kindes - of no child
zu keinem Kind - to no child
durch kein Kind - by no child
Children:
keine Kinder - no children
keiner Kinder - of no children
zu keinen Kindern - to no children
durch keine Kinder - by no children
You are wrong. Nicht negates the verb, and kein negates the noun. Kein is sort of like a negative article. K+ein. Kein is like "Not a" and nicht is sort of like "do not." Ich fahre nicht. Das ist keine Apfel.
Should it not be 'Das ist kein Apfel' or 'Das ist keine Äpfel?'
Das ist kein Apfel if it's just one thing, yes (since Apfel is masculine, not feminine, so keine would be wrong).
Das sind keine Äpfel for several things, with plural sind.
Thanks! I have tried reading the rules, that another discussion member gave, but, it has not quite sunk in yet.
How would you say "this is not apple" For example if someone had given you orange juice by mistake?
You wouldn't.
"apple" in "apple juice" works kind of like an adjective (what kind of juice? apple juice), but German uses a compound noun Apfelsaft that you can't extract the first part out of to use like an adjective.
When is kein used and when is nicht used? Why "Das ist nicht apfel" is incorrect?
Nicht negates the verb and kein negates the noun. Kein is sort of like a negative article. K+ein. Not a.
I wrote "It is not an apple" and Duolingo didn't accept it. Am I right that this is an error?
I wrote "That is not apple" and it wasn't accepted. It says "That is no apple" is the correct answer?!
It told me that I couldn't drop the article, but no article was provided in the original sentence... confusing.
it's means "It is" in English, so if Thefrogqueen is indeed correct. You are also correct.
kein is not an, whereas nicht means not. For example, if you put Das ist nicht Apfel, that would be incorrect as you're saying that is not apple, however, if you put Das ist kein Apfel, you are saying that is not an apple which is correct. A little difficult to explain, so ask if you have more questions please! :) It gives us both a learning opportunity.
Why is it kein Apfel rather than keiner Apfel. The partical should be nominative masculine right?
It is in the masculine nominative. K + ein (masculine nominative article) = kein. Keiner is either the feminine genitive or dative (k + einer)
Why not.. Das ist nicht ein Apfel? I am confused about nicht and kein usage. Thanks for any help you can give.
2740
Kein is used for masculine and neuter nouns, keine for feminine. Das ist kein Apfel (masculine), das ist keine Zeitung (feminine), das ist kein Buch (neuter).
In English, "no" precedes a noun that has no article:
- There is no reason for you to quit your job.
- There are no apples in the basket.
"Not" precedes a noun that has an article:
- That is not a reason to quit your job.
- That is not the reason that I quit my job.
- That is not an apple.
- 564
"Not" can precede a noun in English without an article for items that are not enumerable. I can say "that is not wood" or "that is not milk," but "that is not apple" would make sense only if "apple" were being used in a different sense, such as the name of the material rather than something countable. Likewise if someone stains my fence with cherry stain, I could say "that is not apple." If someone gives me a carved potato and tells me that it's made from apple, it would be correct to say that it's not apple, and incorrect to say that it's not an apple (although it isn't but the subject would be the material).
So you are right, given that apples in the sense used here can be counted.
why not say das ist keinen apfel. i had to say wir trinken keinen wein on a past sentence.
- 2740
Because 'Das' and 'Apfel' are the same thing, the subject (sorry, I don't know the correct terms, but that is how I remember it). In your second sentence, 'wir' is the subject and 'Wein' is the object, therefore Wein is accusative. Hope that makes sense.
- 1161
I'm not 100% sure, but in general I've been thinking of 'nicht' as being like 'not' and 'kein' as being like 'no'.
So, "Das ist kein Apfel," is like, "That is no apple."
- 193
Ahh. That makes sense. Sein doesn't take a direct object: it repeats the subject. Thanks a bunch.
I believe it is a predicate noun. P nouns and predicate adjectives are always used with the verb "to" (sein) - in Engliah "to be" is called a linking verb - German? Anyway, that's why it would be in the nominative case
I wrote "this is not apple" ... where is my mistake????? Doulingo says "this is no apple " !!! That's definitely wrong from Doulingo !!!!!!!!!
- 2740
What you put is not good English, you need an article. You should have said 'this is not an apple', or as Duolingo said, quite rightly, 'this is no apple'.
kein is not an, whereas nicht means not. For example, if you put Das ist nicht Apfel, that would be incorrect as you're saying that is not apple, however, if you put Das ist kein Apfel, you are saying that is not an apple which is correct. A little difficult to explain, so ask if you have more questions please! :) It gives us both a learning opportunity.
durch requires the accusative case.
sein "to be" (almost always) has the nominative case on the left and the right.
No. People don't call those Äpfel except jocularly.
It would be Das ist kein Apple (pronounced Äppl) if referring to an electronic device made by a famous company from Cupertino.
