Breakdown of Er isst einen Apfel und sieht den Film.
ein
a, an (eine)
er
he
und
and
der Apfel
the apple
essen
to eat
sehen
to see
der Film
the movie / the film
Questions & Answers about Er isst einen Apfel und sieht den Film.
Why is the verb isst instead of esst?
The dictionary form of the verb is essen (to eat). Because it is a strong verb, its main vowel changes from e to i when used with er (he), sie (she), or es (it). That makes it er isst. The form esst does exist, but it is used for the you all form, which does not get a vowel change.
Why does sieht change to ie while isst only changes to i?
Strong verbs with an e in the stem can change to either i or ie for the du (you) and er/sie/es forms. It just depends on the verb. For essen, the e becomes an i (er isst). For sehen (to see), the e becomes an ie (er sieht). You simply have to memorize which pattern to use when you learn a new strong verb!
Why do we say einen Apfel and den Film instead of ein and der?
Both Apfel and Film are masculine nouns. In this sentence, they are the direct objects because they are receiving the actions (they are being eaten and watched). That puts them in the accusative case. In the accusative case, the masculine word for a/an changes from ein to einen, and the word for the changes from der to den.
Why doesn't the sentence say und er sieht to repeat the subject?
Just like in English, if the same person is doing two actions connected by und (and), you do not have to repeat the subject pronoun. You can simply say he eats an apple and watches the movie without repeating the word er.
Can sehen really mean to watch a movie?
Yes! While sehen translates directly as to see, it is the standard verb Germans use for watching a movie or a TV show. You will often hear phrases like einen Film sehen (to watch a movie).
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