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- Topic: German >
- "Sie sind Kinder."
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how can one tell whether Sie sind is you or they, if the rest of the sentence doesnt make it clear?
the formal Sie is always capitalized, but if it is at the beginning of a sentence also the normal sie (i mean they) is capitalized so grammatically you can't tell the difference. The same is true for spoken language. You can't speak capitalized ;-)
However, you use the the formal (and the unformal) you to address another person directly. This makes it usually quite obvious when there is direct speech an in real life sentences you often have objects and additional words which help.
In this particular sentence: You don't address children formally. That leaves us that you go to a group of people and say "You are children" in a sense like "You are childish", but then I would use a comparison "Sie sind wie Kinder" (You are like children) and still the sentence would sound quite artificial. Generally the they-interpretation makes much more sense and sounds more natural.
If you tap on the words while doing a lesson and they have a dotted line underneath them, it will tell you what the words mean / what they are in german
sie does mean she but also means they as well. When we are looking at dative pronouns, we have ich (I), du(you), er/sie /es (he/she/ it) wir (we), ihr (you) and sie (to mean they which is the plural of he/she/it) and Sie (you-formal.)
Still a beginner though, correct me if I am wrong :)
188
wouldn't this be "Ihr seid Kinder," 'Ihr' and 'seid' being the second-person plural? I would think "Sie sind Kinder" translates to "they are children."
EDIT: Why does the header of this thread translate it differently from the exercise? How are both correct?
same question here too.i googled it and it says seid for plural but here it says sind
"Ihr seid Kinder" would be informal, while "Sie sind Kinder" is formal. A little weird to use the formal "you" with children, but acceptable :)
The male speaker here pronounces Kinder with a "d" sound. The female speaker pronunces Kind with a "t" sound (Kint). Are they unfortunately saying it different and one is correct and the other is not? Or is the "d" pronounced differently when the word is singular compared to plural? Thank you.
Voiced consonants get devoiced at the end of a word in German -- that means that /b d g v z/ sounds turn into /p t k f s/.
Thus "Kind" sounds like "Kint" -- but in the word "Kinder", the -d- is not at the end any more and so it does not turn into a /t/ sound.
(This fact is used to teach German children which letter to use when spelling a /p t k f s/ sound at the end of a word: turn it into the plural, for nouns, or the comparative, for adjectives, and see whether the sound changes into /b d g v s/; if so, that's the letter you need. For example, "der Rat" and "das Rad" sound identical, but in the plural, you can hear the difference between "die Räte" with /t/ and "die Räder" with /d/. Therefore "das Rad" has to be spelled with a d at the end.)
I am confused. Does not sie mean she?? how can i know when it will be she/they??
Look at the verb.
If sie means "she", the verb will usually end in -t: sie isst, sie hat, sie gibt, sie liest, ...
If sie means "they", the verb will usually end in -en: sie essen, sie haben, sie geben, sie lesen, ...
(sein "to be" is an irregular verb -- there, the "they" form is sie sind.)
Those mean two different things.
Sie sind Kinder. = “They are children.” (Refers back to some people you had spoken about previously, using the personal pronoun “sie”. Since it’s plural, the gender is irrelevant.)
Das sind Kinder. = “Those are children.”; Dies sind Kinder. = “These are children.” (Introduces the children as a new topic of discussion using the demonstrative pronouns das/dies, which are always neuter singular in this construction regardless of the gender and number of what you are introducing — even for a plural noun such as Kinder.)
In this case may answer is correct
What was your answer? Please always quote your entire answer if you have a question -- nobody can see it.
Audio tests are often bugging. I am sure that I am saying it correctly, but I still get points taken away from me! It is frustrating!
I am having the same problem, both German and French, I must be right some of the time.
Why not "Ihr seid kinder" ?
sie sind Kinder = they are children
ihr seid Kinder = you are children
Two different things.
(And Kinder has to be capitalised.)
Theoretically, there is also Sie sind Kinder for "you are children", e.g. if the children are 17 and so technically still children but old enough that you wish to address them formally, with the formal Sie.
bist translates to "are".
But "are" does not always translate to bist -- German is not a code for English, so you shouldn't expect every English word to have exactly one German translation.
bist is the verb form for du -- du bist = you are (when you're speaking to one person).
When you're speaking to several people, it's ihr seid for "you are".
And when you're speaking about several people, it's sie sind for "they are".
All "are" in English -- and two of them are "you are". But in German, you have to keep them separate.
Ive been having troube with, das, die, and der, dont they all mean "the"? Im confised with that.
'Sie' can mean 'you' both in plural and singular and 'they', yet when I answered 'you are kids', it returned as wrong. Any ideas on how these works and how to use the pronoun 'Sie' with the meanings respectively?
The formal Sie is not usually used when speaking to children -- they are usually addressed with informal du, ihr.
That said, older children (say, 17-year-olds) might be called Sie, and so Sie sind Kinder could be "you are children".
It's not one of the accepted translations, but if enough people report it, perhaps it will be (re-?)added eventually.
the formal Sie is always capitalized, but if it is at the beginning of a sentence also the normal sie (i mean they) is capitalized so grammatically you can't tell the difference. The same is true for spoken language. You can't speak capitalized ;-)
However, you use the the formal (and the unformal) you to address another person directly. This makes it usually quite obvious when there is direct speech an in real life sentences you often have objects and additional words which help.
In this particular sentence: You don't address children formally. That leaves us that you go to a group of people and say "You are children" in a sense like "You are childish", but then I would use a comparison "Sie sind wie Kinder" (You are like children) and still the sentence would sound quite artificial. Generally the they-interpretation makes much more sense and sounds more natural.
I am totally confused...there are similar words...sie means she and sie also means they..and they is das...???i cant understand
there are similar words...sie means she and sie also means they
Yes. You can tell them apart by the verb: sie ist "she is" versus sie sind "they are".
- 188
Sein = the infinitive form of "to be" ... "Sein oder nicht sein" = To be or not to be ... "Warum muss er so gemein sein?" = Why does he have to be so mean?
Sind = 3rd person plural / 1st person plural / formal 2nd person singular of sein
Sie sind toll = They are great
Wir sind ruhig = We are quiet
Sie sind eingestellt = You are hired
I have concerns with the Ihr and Sie being (you in the plural) and the latter (Sie) can also mean they or She. How can we tell the difference and how do we use them? Bedankt!
- 188
sie = she, they (both nominative)
Sie = You (formal, singular or plural, nominative)
ihr = you (plural, informal, nominative), her (dative)
"Sie sind toll." :: This can mean "They are great" or "You (formal) are great" but not "She is great" because of the verb "sind," which is plural.
Yes, that's right, the formal "you" (Sie) always takes a plural verb even if you're talking to one person. "Sind sind ein Mann" = "You (formal) are a man" :: "Sind sind Männer" = "You (formal) are men." You'll need to rely on context to determine whether it's a formal plural You or a 3rd person plural ("They are men"). I think you're much more likely to hear "ihr" for 2nd person plural: "Ihr seid Männer."
In writing, as long as it doesn't start the sentence, it's easy to identify formal Sie because it's always capitalized. "Wenn Sie gehen, gehen langsam." In speech, you have to rely on context to determine whether it's "You" or "they."
You can't really mix up the uses of "ihr" because they're different parts of speech.
Und ihr seid Frauen = And you are women
Ich schenke ihr ein Geschenk = I give [to] her a present
Ich schenke ihnen ein Schwein = I give [to] them a pig
Das Geschenk ist für sie = The gift is for her / The gift is for them
You'll notice that in the dative case, 3rd person feminine (ihr) is distinct from 3rd person plural (ihnen), but they are identical in the accusative, so you'll have to rely on context.
Believe it or not, it becomes natural with enough experience and practice. Good luck.
Why it can't be Sie seid Kinder Sie -They seid is used for second- third person
Why it can't be Sie seid Kinder
Because sie and seid do not go together.
ihr seid = you are
sie sind = they are
