Breakdown of Der Apfel ist gesund und er ist billig.
sein
to be
er
he
und
and
der Apfel
the apple
gesund
healthy
billig
cheap
Questions & Answers about Der Apfel ist gesund und er ist billig.
In the second part of the sentence, why does the verb ist come after er? Doesn't und count as the first position?
und (and) is a special connecting word called a coordinating conjunction. In German, words like und, oder (or), aber (but), and denn (because) take up "Position 0". This means they don't count when we figure out where to put the verb. So, the pronoun er takes Position 1, and the verb ist safely stays in its normal Position 2.
Why does the sentence use er (he) instead of es (it) for the apple?
In English, an apple is an "it", but in German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Because apple is a masculine noun (der Apfel), we have to use the masculine pronoun er to refer back to it. If you translate it literally, you are saying "he is cheap"!
Could I just say Der Apfel ist gesund und billig without repeating er ist?
Yes, absolutely! Just like in English, you can drop the second subject and verb if they are the exact same as the first part. This sentence specifically includes er ist to give you practice linking two complete sentences together using und.
Why don't the adjectives gesund and billig have any special endings here?
When adjectives come after a verb like ist (is), they stay in their basic dictionary form. You only need to add special grammar endings to adjectives when they are squeezed directly in front of a noun (like saying "the healthy apple").
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