Questions & Answers about Wir haben zwei Hunde und drei Katzen.
Do the numbers zwei and drei change their spelling depending on the gender of the animals?
No. When you use basic counting numbers (cardinal numbers) like zwei (two) and drei (three) right before a noun, they do not change their endings. They stay the same whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Why does the plural of Hund get an "-e", but the plural of Katze gets an "-n"?
Unlike English, which mostly just adds "-s" for plurals, German has several ways to make nouns plural. Many masculine nouns like der Hund add an -e to become die Hunde. Feminine nouns that already end in -e, like die Katze, almost always just add an -n to become die Katzen. You will learn to memorize the plural ending along with each new noun!
Does the verb haben affect the case of the words Hunde and Katzen?
Yes! The verb haben (to have) requires a direct object, which means the things being "had" must take the accusative case. Fortunately, for all plural nouns, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the basic nominative (subject) form, so Hunde and Katzen do not change their spelling here.
What is the trick to pronouncing the number zwei correctly?