Breakdown of Glaubt ein Kind einem Lehrer?
ein
a, an (eine)
das Kind
the child
der Lehrer
the teacher
glauben
to believe
Questions & Answers about Glaubt ein Kind einem Lehrer?
Why is it einem Lehrer instead of einen Lehrer?
The verb glauben (to believe) is a special verb that always requires the dative case for the person being believed. Because Lehrer is a masculine noun, its indefinite article changes to einem in the dative case.
Why does Kind just use ein while Lehrer uses einem?
Kind is the subject of the sentence (the person doing the believing), so it stays in the nominative case. Since Kind is a neuter noun, its article is ein. Lehrer is the object receiving the action, which forces it into the dative case.
How would this sentence change if the teacher was female?
A female teacher is Lehrerin, which is a feminine noun. In the dative case, the feminine indefinite article is einer. The question would become: Glaubt ein Kind einer Lehrerin?
Why does the sentence start with the verb Glaubt?
To ask a yes/no question in German, you simply move the verb to the very beginning of the sentence. German does not use helper words like "does" or "do", so it literally translates to "Believes a child a teacher?".
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