Breakdown of Das Kind steht zwischen den Geschwistern.
das Kind
the child
die Geschwister
the siblings
stehen
to stand
zwischen
between
Questions & Answers about Das Kind steht zwischen den Geschwistern.
Why do we use den here instead of die for the plural siblings?
The word zwischen (between) is a two-way preposition. Because the child is in a fixed location rather than moving to a new destination, we use the dative case to answer the question Where? (Wo?). In the dative case, the plural article changes from die to den.
Why does Geschwister have an -n at the end in this sentence?
In the dative case, plural nouns almost always get an extra -n added to the end, unless they already end in -n or -s. The standard plural for siblings is die Geschwister, so we add an -n to make it den Geschwistern.
The English translation says is standing, so why doesn't the German sentence use the verb ist?
German does not have a continuous -ing form like English does. The simple present tense verb steht covers both stands and is standing. Trying to add ist to make a continuous tense would be incorrect in German.
Can I use Geschwister if the siblings are only brothers or only sisters?
Yes! Just like the English word siblings, Geschwister is a completely neutral group term. You use it whether the group is all boys, all girls, or a mix of both.
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