Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Das Buch gefällt dem Kind.
Why is Das Buch at the beginning if the English translation says "The child likes"?
The German verb gefallen doesn't exactly mean "to like". It actually means "to be pleasing to". So literally, this sentence says "The book is pleasing to the child." That's why Das Buch is the subject of the sentence and comes first.
Why is it dem Kind instead of das Kind?
Because the child is the one receiving the pleasure from the book, it is the indirect object. In German, indirect objects take the dative case. The word for child is neuter (das Kind), and in the dative case, das changes to dem.
Why does gefällt have an umlaut (ä)?
The dictionary form of the verb is gefallen. It is an irregular verb that changes its vowel from a to ä for the "he/she/it" forms. Since Das Buch counts as "it", we use the form gefällt.
Could I flip the sentence and say Dem Kind gefällt das Buch?
Yes! German word order is very flexible because the case words (dem and das) clearly tell us who is doing what. As long as the verb (gefällt) stays in the second position, you can start with Dem Kind. It means exactly the same thing, just with slightly more focus on the child.