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- Topic: German >
- "Ich habe ein Haustier."
63 Comments
Why the right word is "ein" and not "einen"? Isn't "Haustier" the direct object?
Yes. "Haustier" is the direct object, but it is also a neuter noun. For neuter nouns the indefinite article does not change, thus ein stays ein.
Oh thats the same as Latin then (for the actual noun itself anyway, Latin doesn't have articles), good to remember.
Its ein because Haustier is neuter and einen only applies to masculine nouns in the accusative case.
Haustier can be other animals, eg. horse. Pet is a smaller group. I wouldn't say a hamster as a Haustier, but it can be a pet, of course.
Haustier is a combination of two other words... Haus, meaning house in English and Tier, meaning animal in English. The literal translation of Haustier is therefore house animal. In English, house animals are generally refered to as pets.
For a horse or cow, I would use "Nutztier" in German. "Haustier" is pretty close to "pet". Then again, most words do not match 1:1 to other languages.
I learnt earlier... when putting two words together like Orangensaft, the word always takes the article from the latter word. In the above mentioned case, it has taken the article 'der' from der Saft. So why not in this case, do we apply the same rule, and use 'der' rather than 'das' for Haustier as tier has article 'der'?
It is "das Haustier" for "das Tier". "ein Haustier" is neuter. "Ein" is used for masculine and neuter.
Well, sometimes I feel people are asking for it :)) I mean, you have multiple ways to translate something, and one is the super straight forward and the one that sounds better in English. I mean if I wanted to tell somebody there is a cat in the house, would i rather say: a) I have a pet b) I have a house pet c) I have a house animal d) I have a domestic animal If you just pick the most straight forward one, you cannot be wrong. If you try to translate using some English dialect or a more or less unusual phrase, you are kind of testing the system to see if the creators have thought of that and you are likely to fail. That is how I see it.
In written English we simply use pet , of course house pet is also correct
OMG I GET IT NOW Haustier, Haus, is like a house, and tier is an animal, so the direct translation is Houseanimal, so basically a pet <3
I am sill not following why the subject article(?) can be either ein, eine, and einen.
In German, there are three "genders" that a noun can have: masculine, neutral and feminine. You use "ein" as a translation of "a" or "an" to masculine and neutral nouns, but "eine" (with the same translations of "ein") to the feminine ones.
I've got a pet. or I have a pet. You can't say I've a pet without using the word got.
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We don't in North America, however, they DO say, "I've a..." in some English speaking countries.
As an English speaker, a cow is a "domesticated" animal. It has been bred to live with or work for humans. I don't think I've ever heard the phrase "domestic animal" before. Thanks for making me think about this weird phrase!
(Apparently two backticks '`' denotes code.)
You can say that in german too: domestiziertes Tier, but it sounds rather academic.
I thought a domestic animal in English is an animal which has its natural habitat in the region, like domestic politics and so on?
Is there any way to tell when a word is masculine or feminine, or are we just guessing?
And also, how do i know when to use ein or eine VS einen?
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Not guessing. It is something that just needs to be learned/memorized. It is much easier, in the long run, to learn from the beginning: der Hund, die Katze, das Ei, instead of just Hund, Katze, Ei...
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"Der Hund" can refer to a generic dog/ a dog in general as well as specifically a male dog. If you want to refer specifically to a female dog/a bitch ( you can use "die Hündin". http://www.dict.cc/?s=bitch, http://www.dict.cc/deutsch-englisch/H%C3%BCndin.html
Wenn "Haustier" meinte "Pet" auf Englisch, dann die korrekte Lösung ist nicht haus Pet, aber Pet.
That would be what you get if you translate the individual components literally.
But Haustier means "pet".
Why Haustier? (with capital H)
Because Haustier is a noun, and all nouns are capitalised in German -- a fact that is mentioned in the tips and notes to the very first lesson, so you may have forgotten it: https://www.duolingo.com/skill/de/Basics-1/tips-and-notes
You may wish to go through the tips and notes regularly to refresh your memory.
If you're using a mobile app, you will probably not be able to find them there; instead, go to the website https://www.duolingo.com/ and then, after selecting a unit, click on the lightblub to access the tips and notes:
Is there any tips to find the easy way to figure out "ein","eine" and "einen" without thinking about the article?
Is there any tips to find the easy way to figure out "ein","eine" and "einen" without thinking about the article?
Practice, practice, practice.
If you've heard the correct article ten thousand times and you've said the correct article ten thousand times, then it will come out as second nature and you won't have to think about it any more.
There's no easy way.
I like the way German words (and phrases) work. Haus = house; Tier = animal. So houseanimal is pet
And "tree-wool" (Baumwolle) is cotton and "sea-piglet" (Meerschweinchen) is guinea pig :)
Doesnt haustier
No such word.
It's Haustier with a capital H.
literally mean "House Animal"
Well, it's a compound word based on Haus (house) + Tier (animal), but the compound Haustier translates best as "pet".
Kind of like how knowing that "o'clock" is based on "of the clock" and "goodbye" comes from "God be with you" isn't helpful in picking the best translations -- you have to take those words/phrases as individual entities.
Or how you can't reliably translate "handkerchief" based on the meanings of "hand" and "kerchief" (what does "a cloth to cover your head", from French couvre-chef, have to do with hands?) -- it's a word of its own.
