- Forum >
- Topic: German >
- "Ich bin sein Enkel."
37 Comments
How do you differentiate between enkel = grandchild(ren) vs enkel = grandson?
You know it by it's article.
Der Enkel = The grandson
Die Enkel = The grandchildren
Mein/dein/ihr/sein Enkel = My/your/her/his grandson
MeinE/deinE/ihrE/seinE = my/your/her/his grandchildren.
If There's no article then you must use context
Learning this too but I usually use the context of the rest of the sentence.
Somehow my brain decided that German sein = Swedish sin. And somehow also thought that sin could be used for the first person singular. So there I was wondering why the sentence was I am my own grandson.
529
Sorry, this is way out of a learning German context but: Try looking up a song by Ray Stevens- "I'm my Own Grandpa" Then your sentence will have a new level of confusion.
Why is "I am your grandchild" correct in this case but it it not correct in the case of "Ich bin sein Enkelin"? I mean, "child" means "son" and "daughter"...
I'm not sure what you mean -- "I am your grandchild" is not a correct translation of Ich bin sein Enkel.
It means "I am his grandchild" or "I am his grandson", not "your".
Also, Enkelin is specifically a granddaughter, while Enkel can be either a specifically male grandchild (a grandson) or a grandchild in general, sex unspecified -- especially in the plural.
Enkelsohn and Enkeltochter are a specifically-gendered pair of words.
Are Enkelin and Enkeltochter the same? If so, when would you use either?
Are Enkelin and Enkeltochter the same?
Yes.
If so, when would you use either?
Personal preference.
Im confused about the difference between ihre and sein, i can't tell when one is appropriate to mean "his/her uncle" like could this sentence still work if it was "ich bin ihre Enkel"
The difference between sein, seine and ihr, ihre is basically like "his" and "her" in English.
sein Onkel is "his uncle", ihr Onkel is "her uncle. seine Tante is "his aunt", ihre Tante is "her aunt".
So the base word (sein-, ihr-) "his, her" depends on the gender of the owner; the ending depends on the gender of the "possession" (-e for a feminine or plural noun, no ending for a masculine or neuter noun).
Ich bin ihr Enkel would be "I am her grandson".
And Ich bin ihre Enkel would be "I am her grandsons" or possibly "I am her grandchildren" -- since Enkel is grammatically masculine, the -e ending on ihre must indicate that the noun Enkel is plural here. (The word has the same shape in the plural as in the singular.)
Enkel = Grandson/Grandchild Enkelin = Granddaughter Enkelsohn = Grandson I hope it helps.
Because that would mean "his grandsons" or "his grandchildren" rather than just one grandson.
- 766
It does not sound anything like the translation, this needs to be evaluated and corrected
Both Enkelin and Enkeltochter are used for "granddaughter".
They both have to be capitalised, though -- they're nouns.
A female saying ich bin sein enkel must be grandchild or have Germans created female sons
Perhaps is there any difference in pronunciation between plural Enkel and singular Enkel? the woman TTS and man TTS speak it in very different way, so I'm confused.
Ich bin sein enkel. How do I know who the enkel is referring to Großmutter or Großvater. To deduct which of the two possessive adjectives I need to use.
Ich bin sein enkel. How do I know who the enkel is referring to Großmutter or Großvater.
sein is the possessive determiner related to er or es.
So it can only refer to the masculine Großvater, not to the feminine Großmutter.
sein Enkel = his grandchild/grandson
"her grandchild/grandson" would be ihr Enkel.
I wrote : "I´m his grandchildren."
But why? One person cannot be many grandchildren.
Also, the German sein indicates that the following noun is singular.
hey anglosaxons did you know that "grandson" and "nephew" are synonims? so why it's a mistake?
"grandson" and "nephew" are not synonyms in English -- "grandson" is the son of your son or daughter, while "nephew" is the son of your brother or sister.
