Breakdown of Die Kinder haben Durst.
das Kind
the child
haben
to have
der Durst
the thirst
Durst haben
to be thirsty
Questions & Answers about Die Kinder haben Durst.
Why does the German sentence use haben (have) instead of sind (are)?
In English, we describe feelings like this using the verb 'to be' (are thirsty). In German, you literally 'have thirst' using a noun (Durst haben). So, instead of using sind (are), we use haben (have). You will also see this exact same pattern with hunger: Hunger haben (to be hungry).
Why is the verb haben instead of hat?
Die Kinder (the children) is a plural noun, meaning it takes the 'they' verb form. The 'they' form of the verb 'to have' is haben. If the sentence were about just one child, we would use the singular form: Das Kind hat Durst.
How can I tell that Kinder is plural?
The singular word for a child is das Kind. To make it plural, German adds -er to the end, making it Kinder. Also, the word for 'the' here is die, which is the article used for all plural nouns in German.
Why is the word Durst capitalized?
In German, every single noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or concept) must be capitalized. Because Durst means 'thirst' and is a noun rather than an adjective, it always gets a capital D.
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