"I do not eat cheese."
Translation:Ich esse keinen Käse.
92 Comments
You're right and I'd also love to see a breakdown of the sentence by object, subject, tense, infinitives and so on but at least we have the comments section.
also would be nice if hovering over every word in every sentence showed a little table of all forms of this word, gender, examples and so on
and would be really helpful to see all possible correct translations, considering all the she/you/they for sie and weil/dass word order changes
but yeah, at least we have the comments section
definite article (gender) of "Kase" is "der" (masculine) so indefinite article is "ein" > in accusative it is "einen".
From the grammar because the arcticle is "keineN" (accusative). From the the meaning bucause the cheese is the object (recive the action of not beeing eaten)
There doesn't have to negation with kein; in this sentence, you can either negate the verb (Ich esse Käse nicht) or the object (Ich esse keinen Käse). The problem with your sentence is your "nicht" is in the wrong place.
Same. That pissed me off. Irritating! Hopefully they fix this type of stuff in the near future.
You use "kein(e)(n)" when there is no article or an indefinite article both cases...
Oh okay, that makes sense. So does that mean you would only use "nicht" if the sentence were "I do not eat the cheese (Ich esse den Käse nicht)"? Because I also answered with "Ich esse Käse nicht," and was wrong and confused. I don't fully understand when to use "kein-" or "nicht," so if what you say is correct then that will help me tremendously.
Typically "nicht" comes after the verb ("isst" in this case here), so why isn't that the case here?
Best as I understand, "nicht" doesn't typically come after the verb as a general rule.
Now, if the sentence is a simple subject+verb+negation, such as "Ich esse nicht.", then the "nicht" will come after the verb. [I believe you can also "Nicht esse ich," but I don't know if German word order is that flexible or if a native German would ever say that. Maybe a native speaker can shed some light on that].
Typically, though, "nicht" comes before the thing it is negating, unless it's the verb of a simple declarative sentence, in which case it goes to the end, kind of like it is negating the whole verbal idea: "I eat, not."
I figured out that "kein" is used to negate nouns a few hours after I saw this (It took me 2 videos to see that clearly), but thanks.
While I believe "Ich esse Kase nicht" would be accepted here, "keinen Kase" should really be used instead because the noun ("Kase") has no article. "Ich esse Kase nicht" would be "I do not eat the cheese."
How could "Ich esse Käse nicht" be rendered as "I do not eat the cheese" when the German sentence has no determiner and the English does ("the")? In the German sentence, there is no specific cheese being discussed, while in the English sentence, there is a specific cheese being discussed.
Oops. It should be "Ich esse den Kase nicht" (although I'm not sure if "Ich esse nicht den Kase" is incorrect). The point I was trying to make was simply that "kein(e/en)" should be used when there is either an indefinite or no article and "nicht" should be used when there is a definite article. Therefore, "Ich esse nicht Käse" is likely incorrect because there is no article attached to "Kase." Word order may also be an issue here, but I'm not 100% sure on that.
Based on what I've read, both sentences are correct, but you're right that "Ich esse keinen Käse" is the preferred way to say it (confirmed by a Google search of the two sentences).
"Ich esse Käse nicht" is valid, though, because you're negating the verb (or the whole sentence, depending on how you look at it), not the noun. The difference is of emphasis, though they pretty much mean the same thing in this case.
So if I understand correctly (please correct me if I'm wrong): I eat -> Ich esse I don't eat -> Ich esse nicht I eat cheese -> Ich esse Kase I don't eat cheese -> Iche esse keinen Kase I eat the cheese -> Iche esse den Kase I don't eat the cheese -> Ich esse den Kase nicht
The basic pattern is: subject + verb (+ adverb of time/direct object) + nicht (+ infinitive/adverb/adjective).
Your sample sentences look right to me and I believe your basic pattern is correct for a standard declarative sentence. Of course, with German, you can move the different parts around so long as that verb is in the second position.
Also, don't forget those all-important umlauts.
sball88 I think "I don't eat the cheese" also translate in ich esse nicht den Kase (here nicht negates the object)
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So there is a subtle difference in meaning, here, correct? When you say "Ich esse den Käse nicht." (which is correct.), you are implying that you might eat some other cheese or at some other time. But when you say "Ich esse keinen Käse." you are saying that you do not eat cheese period - not ever. Does that sound correct to you native German speakers out there? Danke!
Why do you introduce a definite article in your German response when there was none in the English sentence?
If I want to say "I don't eat any cheeses", as in no type of cheese, can I not say "Ich esse keine Käse"??? (die Käse is the plural of der Käse)
Yes, that sentence works. You could also use "keinerlei" to further emphasize that you eat no cheese whatsoever.
When do you use the singular and when do you use the plural of the word in Ich esse kein ____. I see for Gemüse and Käse it's the singular version, but for Orangen it's the plural version. Is there a rule for this?
It's like in English. If it's a mass noun eg water then you use the singular I don't drink water; if it's a plural noun you use the pural I don't eat any vegetables. Cheese can either be a some cheese - use the singular - or types of cheeses -use the plural.
If I understand your question correctly, "Gemuse" is neuter and "Kase" is masculine. Therefore, you use "kein" for both nouns. "Orangen," on the other hand, is feminine and takes "keine." Maybe the confusion comes from the fact that, in the nominative case, masculine and neuter nouns take "kein" and feminine and plural nouns take "keine."
Thank you! That answers one of my questions! But how do I recognize the gender of the noun?
Why are both "Ich esse Käse nicht" and "Ich esse keinen Käse" both correct here? I thought we were told they are distinctly different.
Because you can choose to deny the verb or the object like "I don't eat" or "no cheese". They're both correct.
Is there any difference between "Ich esse nicht Käse" and "Ich esse Käse nicht"? Which one is wrong? (if there is the wrong one) Must I put "nicht" in the end of the sentence due to the object (Käse)?
*Sorry by the english mistakes, I'm not an english speaker
FIrst. you should be using "kein Käse" in this example. To answer your question about where nicht goes in the sentence I will use another example "he doesn't do his homework" "er machte seine Hausaufgabe nicht". Where does nicht go? In long sentences I still have problems with this. Usually and if you are not sure put it as late in the sentence as allowed (before any trailing verbs) eg "Er will seine Hausaufgabe nicht machen"
Occasionally nicht comes earlier, this is usually to emphasise what is being negated. Eg "er fährt nicht zur Schule" he doesn't dirve to school (he walks instead) "er fährt zur Schule nicht" he doesn't drive to school (but is driving somewhere else).
All in all, follow the first rule, and only use the subtle varieties when they come naturally. There are many other more important grammatical things to nail first.
Goooood! Thanks a lot! Mainly by the second paragraph, it helped me a lot!
Thank you for the helpful reply. What confuses me about the placement of 'nicht' is that I read on Duolingo that 'nicht' is placed after a conjugated verb, so in that case, why is "Ich esse nicht Käse" improper grammar? "Esse" is the 1st person singular form of "essen", so it's conjugated.
Käse (note the umlaut) is masculine. Something that is eaten is accusative. Masculine accusative ending is -en hence "keinen".
Very quick rule. If the object being negated uses the ein family of articles or has no article then use kein.
If the object being negated uses the der family or the negation applies to a verb/adj/adverb etc then use nicht
Eg. Ich habe kein geld (positive has no article) Ich habe keine Karte (positive uses ein) Das ist nicht das Haus. (das) Ich bin nicht glücklich. (adjective)
This means "I never eat cheese". OK in both German and English you can in many cases use either, but there is a difference between the two.
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Since "Käse" is the accusative masculine.
Accusative: Direct object of the sentence
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Similar to "ein" , kein changes depending on the case and gender.
Nominative: kein(M) ,keine(F) ,kein(N)
Accusative: keinen(M) ,keine(F) ,kein(N)
Dative: keinem(M) ,keiner(F) ,keinem(N)
I will never understand kein keine keinen. Ich is singular. Es is singular. Then why is it different from each other?
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Kein changes depending on the case and gender of the noun which it is negating
Nominative: kein(M) ,keine(F) ,kein(N)
Accusative: keinen(M) ,keine(F) ,kein(N)
Dative: keinem(M) ,keiner(F) ,keinem(N)
It's got nothing to do with the subject (Ich). The different forms of 'kein' depend on the object (specifically the gender of the noun that follows it). Just study it. There's plenty good lessons on the internet if you really tried.
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Why it’s Ich mag „kein“ Gemüse for I don’t like vegetables , while Ich esse „keinen“ Käse means I don’t eat cheese?
no—I believe the rule (and real German speakers correct me if I'm wrong) is that you use "nicht" in a construction where the object takes an article/qualifier, like "Ich sehe nicht den Tisch" (I don't see the that table), but when it doesn't, like here "Kaese" is not preceded by an article/qualifier, so you use kein.
Another example would be with the construction with which you say people's professions. "Ich bin Lehrer": you don't use an article. Therefore, "Ich bin kein Lehrer."
"Ich nicht esse Käse" can't work because the verb isn't the second place, which is a must.
Actually, along with "ich esse keinen Käse," "ich esse Käse nicht" is also acceptable because the "nicht" negates the verb "esse."
ev13191, your sentence "ich sehe nicht den Tisch" should be "ich sehe den Tisch nicht," I think. Maybe a native speaker can confirm that, but I'm pretty sure that's right.
what about "ich esse Käse nicht" duolingo accepted it. so what's up with that? (i'm not being agressive, i'm really asking xD english is not my native language, so, i don't know how to make it sound more... smooth? kind?)
There's nothing wrong with "ich esse Käse nicht"; you've just negated the verb (or the whole sentence, really) instead of the noun. Native Germans might have a preference or a default in choosing whether to negate the verb or noun if there's a choice, but I'm not native so I don't know.
You can look at it this way:
Ich esse Käse nicht = I don't eat cheese
Ich esse keinen Käse = I eat no cheese
Both are acceptable English constructions, though native English speakers definitely will choose the first one over the second one most every time (the second sounds very formal).
(Also, "so what's up with that?" doesn't sound very aggressive to me, I think the "so" softens it up a bit.)
Hello. Why does "nicht" have to go at the end of the sentence in this example? How do you know when to put it at the end of the sentence or after the verb? I read the Tips and notes, but it doesn't seem to include anything about this type of sentence. Thanks!
I would like to know this as well, please.
In the question I had immediately before this one, "Das Mädchen isst nicht Orangen" was accepted for "The girl does not eat oranges". In this question, "Ich esse nicht Käse" was not accepted for "I do not eat cheese".
I'm having a hard time discerning the difference.
Here's a great video from a native German explaining when to use "nicht," and when to use "kein": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJYb4L7S6vw
Why not "Ich isst Kase nicht"? I am so confused by essen/isst and kein(e)(en)/nicht and were to put them in the sentence. Arrgh!
Can some one help me i dont understand why some times like here we use keinen istead of keine but somewhere else use kein or ein even when we talk about the object
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I thought keinen was for plurals? I'm just trying to figure out why it's keinen and not kein :/
I still am confused when to use kein, keine, keinen. I am also confused when to use die, der, das, I know die is femine. But then why is it Das madchen and not die madchen?
Please can somebody help me understand why nicht can't be used, like simply I'm a teenager please. Just been reading the comments unable to get what tf is happening. Help a student out!!!
