"They got sick."
Translation:Sie wurden krank.
21 Comments
1790
I used "Ihnen wurde schlecht" (a situation when you cannot name what is wrong as in "they got seasick) and I think it is a better translation. Personally I would translate "Sie wurden krank" as "they got/became ill" (something like pneumonia, the flu etc)
- 1417
Because the subject is an implied "es," not "ihnen." Since "ihnen" is dative, it can't be the subject.
The literal translation of bf2010's sentence is "For/to them [it] becomes bad."
I have replied "Sie sind erkrankt worden" and would really appreciate if someone could explain to me what was wrong with that
- 1790
You might say "Sie sind erkrankt" or "Sie sind krank geworden"; in your sentence you used a mixture of the two - which does not work in German. Think of it in the following way: The English version, "They got sick" is really a shortened form of the older "they have got/gotten (or have become) sick, which translates to German as "Sie sind krank geworden" or "sie wurden krank" ("krank werden" as "get sick" -> sie wird krank/sie wurde krank/sie sind krank geworden etc). Hope that helps :-).
- 1417
"Wurden" is the preterite form of "werden."
"Warden" isn't a word. Do you mean "waren" perhaps?
- 889
Actually DL gives a translation for "got" as "wurden/warden". Apparently "warden" is an older form not used much today.
- 1417
As far as I can tell, "worden" is only used with passive forms (e.g., "Der Apfel ist gegessen worden"--"The apple was eaten"). You need the full form "geworden" here.
EDIT: fixed from "... ist worden gegessen"
- 1417
Right, thanks. I always get my participles (and infinitives) mixed around at the ends of sentences.
- 1790
No, you can*t; it is always "krank werden" (for get ill), or "krank sein" for "be ill"
- 1790
Because "geworden" is the third form of the verb (Past Participle) which you do not use in the present tense or past tense but iin the future tense. Example: Sie wird krank (she gets sick); Sie wurde krank (she got sick); Sie ist krank geworden (she has got sick);)
- 1417
This is incorrect. There's no verb. "Geworden" is a participle and does not function as a verb on its own.
