Breakdown of Der Kuchen schmeckt uns sehr gut.
sehr
very
gut
good / well
uns
us
schmecken
to taste
der Kuchen
the cake (simple, baked)
Questions & Answers about Der Kuchen schmeckt uns sehr gut.
Why do we use uns here instead of wir?
The verb schmecken (to taste) is a special verb that requires the person experiencing the taste to be in the dative case. Since the cake is doing the action (tasting good), it is the subject. We are the receivers of the action, so wir (we) becomes the dative pronoun uns (to us).
Does this literally translate to "The cake tastes us"?
Almost! It translates to "The cake tastes to us." In English, we usually say "We like the cake," making "we" the subject. In German, the food is the subject (Der Kuchen), and it performs the action of "tasting good" to someone (uns).
Could I start the sentence with uns?
Yes, you can say Uns schmeckt der Kuchen sehr gut. This emphasizes that the cake tastes good to us specifically. Just remember that in German statements, the verb (schmeckt) must always stay in the second position, no matter what word comes first.
Can I use schmecken to say I like a song or a movie?
No, schmecken is strictly for food and drink! If you want to express that you like a movie, a song, or a piece of clothing, you should use the verb gefallen, which also takes the dative case (for example, Der Film gefällt uns).
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