Breakdown of Wir machen keinen Fehler und ich bin sicher.
ich
I
sein
to be
und
and
machen
to make, to do
kein
no, not any
wir
we
sicher
sure / certain
der Fehler
the mistake
Questions & Answers about Wir machen keinen Fehler und ich bin sicher.
Why does the verb bin come after ich in the second half of the sentence?
The conjunction und connects two complete sentences. Coordinating conjunctions like und, oder, and aber take up Position 0. This means they do not count in the word order. Therefore, the subject ich takes Position 1, and the verb bin stays firmly in its required Position 2.
Why do we use keinen to say we are not making a mistake instead of nicht?
When you negate a noun that would usually have an indefinite article like ein (a or an), German uses a form of kein. You are essentially saying 'We are making no mistake' rather than 'We are not making a mistake'.
Why does kein have the -en ending here to make keinen?
The noun Fehler is masculine, and it is the direct object of the verb machen. This puts it in the accusative case. Masculine words in the accusative case force words like ein and kein to take the -en ending.
Does sicher mean sure or safe?
It can mean both! You have to use the context of the sentence to figure out which one is meant. Here, 'I am sure' makes much more sense than 'I am safe'.
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