Word
Der Nachbar hilft der Nachbarin.
Meaning
The male neighbor helps the female neighbor.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Nachbar hilft der Nachbarin.
helfen
to help
der Nachbar
the neighbor (male)
die Nachbarin
the neighbor (female)
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Questions & Answers about Der Nachbar hilft der Nachbarin.
Why does it say der Nachbarin? Isn't der a masculine word?
Der is the masculine word for 'the' in the Nominative (subject) case, but it is ALSO the feminine word for 'the' in the Dative case! Because the female neighbor is receiving the help, her article changes from die to the Dative form der.
Why is the female neighbor in the Dative case to begin with?
The verb helfen (to help) is a strict Dative verb. While English treats 'the neighbor' as a direct object, German treats it as an indirect receiver of help. You can think of it as 'The male neighbor gives help TO the female neighbor'.
Is Nachbarin always a female neighbor?
Yes! In German, adding the suffix -in to a person's description or profession makes it feminine. So der Nachbar is the male neighbor, and die Nachbarin is the female neighbor.
Why is the verb spelled hilft and not helft?
The infinitive is helfen, but it has a stem vowel change. When conjugating for 'he', 'she', or 'it', the 'e' changes to an 'i'. So 'he helps' becomes er hilft.