Word
Sie sagen ja, aber wir sagen nein.
Meaning
They say yes, but we say no.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Sie sagen ja, aber wir sagen nein.
The word "Sie" can mean "she", "they", or formal "you". How do we know it means "they" here?
Look at the verb ending! The verb sagen (to say) has the -en ending, which is used for the plural sie (they). If the sentence meant "She says yes," the verb would need the -t ending: Sie sagt ja. (Note: It could also technically mean formal "you", but "they" is the most natural translation here).
Why do both halves of the sentence use the exact same verb form, sagen?
Because the plural pronouns sie (they) and wir (we) both take the -en ending in the present tense. For regular verbs, this means the conjugated verb looks exactly like the dictionary form.
Does the word aber (but) change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No, aber is very friendly to beginners! It just links two normal sentences together without changing their word order. The second part keeps the standard Subject + Verb order: wir + sagen.
Why aren't ja and nein capitalized here?
In German, all nouns are capitalized. However, ja (yes) and nein (no) are considered particles, not nouns. Unless they are the very first word of a sentence, they are written in lowercase.