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Die Kinder essen die Äpfel schnell.

Die Kinder essen die Äpfel schnell.
The children eat the apples quickly.
From Lesson 9:Plural nouns and the plural article (die)·German

Breakdown of Die Kinder essen die Äpfel schnell.

das Kind
the child
der Apfel
the apple
schnell
fast, quickly
essen
to eat

Questions & Answers about Die Kinder essen die Äpfel schnell.

Why do both Kinder and Äpfel use the word die for 'the'? Aren't they different genders?
In the singular, they do have different genders: das Kind (neuter) and der Apfel (masculine). However, in the plural, all nouns use the article die for 'the', regardless of their original gender. So they become die Kinder and die Äpfel.
How do the singular nouns change to become plural in this sentence?
German has a few different ways to make nouns plural. Das Kind adds -er to the end to become die Kinder. Der Apfel doesn't add any letters at the end, but the vowel a gets an umlaut (the two dots) to become ä, making it die Äpfel.
Does the second die change because die Äpfel is the direct object being eaten?
No, it stays exactly the same! While masculine singular nouns change their 'the' word from der to den when they are the direct object, plural nouns do not change. The plural article die is used for both the subject (die Kinder) and the direct object (die Äpfel).
Why is 'quickly' translated as just schnell without a special ending?
In English, we often add '-ly' to turn an adjective (quick) into an adverb (quickly) that describes an action. In German, you just use the base adjective. Schnell can mean both 'quick' and 'quickly'!

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