Breakdown of Neunundneunzig Prozent haben ein Handy.
ein
a, an (eine)
und
and
haben
to have
das Handy
the cellphone
neun
nine
neunzig
ninety
das Prozent
the percent
Questions & Answers about Neunundneunzig Prozent haben ein Handy.
How exactly is the number neunundneunzig put together?
German compound numbers are read 'backwards' compared to English. You say the ones first, then 'and' (und), then the tens. So 99 is neun (nine) + und (and) + neunzig (ninety). They are always written together as one long word!
If Prozent doesn't have a plural ending, why is the verb haben (have) in the plural form?
Even though the word Prozent stays the same, 'ninety-nine percent' represents a large group of people. Because it refers to multiple people, German uses the plural verb haben, just like in English.
Is Handy an English word borrowed into German?
It looks like one, but it is actually a false friend! Native English speakers do not call a cell phone a 'handy', but German speakers adopted this English-sounding word to mean mobile phone. It is a neuter noun (das Handy).
Why is it ein Handy and not einen Handy since it is the object of the sentence?
The verb haben always takes a direct object (the accusative case). Because Handy is a neuter noun (das Handy), the word for 'a' stays ein. It would only change to einen if it were a masculine noun.
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