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- Das Mädchen hat Durst, aber s…
Das Mädchen hat Durst, aber sie/es trinkt nicht.
Is "sie" or "es" correct here? As I have seen "Der Käse ist alt, aber er ist gut." Thank you
9 Comments
Interesting :D. For me it's totally natural to say "es", because both in the region where I live and where I was born, the regional dialects use "es" for every girl or woman. "Das Petra hat heute Geburtstag"... To the learners: just for your information, not to be used ;-). PS: limited to personal contacts like friends and acquaintances, partly relatives, because it's a type of diminutive.... it sounds cute. I would never say "Das Kanzlerin Merkel".
1494
Mark Twain wrote about this in his essay, "The Awful German Language" :
"Every noun has a gender, and there is no sense or system in the distribution; so the gender of each must be learned separately and by heart. There is no other way. To do this one has to have a memory like a memorandum-book. In German, a young lady has no sex, while a turnip has. Think what overwrought reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous disrespect for the girl. See how it looks in print -- I translate this from a conversation in one of the best of the German Sunday-school books:
"Gretchen: Wilhelm, where is the turnip?
Wilhelm: She has gone to the kitchen.
Gretchen: Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden?
Wilhelm: It has gone to the opera."