Breakdown of Sie kaufen jetzt ein Haus.
ein
a, an (eine)
das Haus
the house
kaufen
to buy
jetzt
now
Sie
you (formal)
Questions & Answers about Sie kaufen jetzt ein Haus.
If the sentence means "You are buying", why doesn't it use the "du" form?
This sentence uses Sie, which is the formal "you". You use this when speaking politely to a stranger, a colleague, or an authority figure. Notice how the verb ends in -en (kaufen) to match Sie. If you were talking to a friend, you would use the informal du and add an -st to the verb: Du kaufst jetzt ein Haus.
How do I know Sie means "you" here instead of "she" or "they"?
At the start of a sentence, Sie can mean "she", "they", or the formal "you". Because the verb is kaufen (and not kauft), it cannot be "she". To tell if it means "they" or formal "you", you usually rely on the context of the conversation. In this lesson, we are practicing the formal "you"!
Why is there no German word for "are" in this sentence?
In English, we say "are buying" for something happening right now, or "buy" for a general habit. German is easier here! It only has one present tense. Sie kaufen can mean both "You buy" and "You are buying". You never need an extra word for "are" when describing an action in German.
Why does jetzt (now) come before the house?
In German, words that tell you when something happens (like the time word jetzt) usually prefer to sit right after the verb. So while English says "You are buying a house now", German puts the time before the object: "You are buying now a house" (Sie kaufen jetzt ein Haus).
Why is it ein Haus and not einen Haus?
Haus is a neuter noun (das Haus). Even though it is the direct object in this sentence (the thing being bought), neuter nouns do not change their words for "a" or "the" when they become the object. They stay exactly the same as they are in the dictionary: ein Haus.
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