"I believe lions don't eat vegetarians."
Translation:Ich glaube, Löwen essen keine Vegetarier.
10 Comments
why does essen' followLoewen'? This clause in English would have `that' , either expressed or not, introduce this clause. Why is this not so in German?
1040
You may perfectly write "Ich glaube, dass Löwen keine Vegetarier essen", an equivalent to the explicite "that lions don't eat vegetarians", but notice you have then to put the verb at the end of the clause. Duo's version is an alternative possibility, where you skip the subordinate conjunction and keep the verb in second position. Just stylistic choice here :)
So, the placement of the verb at the end of the subordinate clause is required by the use of the conjunction, and not by the fact that it's a subordinate clause?
Not an expert but I would say yes, because there are many conjunctions, typically used to start subordinate clauses, and not all of them move the verb to the end.
zum Beispiel: (denn) - Die Löwen fressen die Erdbeeren, denn die sind lecker.
- 138
I wrote the exact same answer with "fressen" instead of "essen." Why is that wrong?
- 569
Curious, I wrote "fressen" just now, and it was accepted, although Duo suggested another translation using "essen". My construction was..".dass.....fressen", but that surely doesn't matter. It all suggests that "Leute essen Tiere, und Tiere essen Leute, aber Tiere fressen andere Essen."?
