Breakdown of Anna hat heute Geburtstag.
haben
to have
heute
today
Geburtstag haben
to have a birthday (on a date)
Questions & Answers about Anna hat heute Geburtstag.
The English translation says "Anna's birthday", so why isn't it Annas Geburtstag ist heute?
While Annas Geburtstag ist heute is correct and uses the Saxon Genitive you are learning, Germans rarely say it that way. It is much more natural to use the verb haben (to have) and say Anna hat heute Geburtstag (literally: Anna has today birthday).
Why is there no word for "a" or "her" before Geburtstag?
In English, we talk about having "a" birthday or it being "her" birthday. In German, the set phrase is simply Geburtstag haben. You do not need any article or possessive word before it.
Why is heute (today) placed before Geburtstag?
In German, time words like heute usually come right after the conjugated verb. So instead of putting "today" at the end of the sentence like we often do in English, German places it right after the verb hat.
What are the parts of the word Geburtstag?
It is a compound noun made of die Geburt (the birth) and der Tag (the day). Because the last word is der Tag, the compound word takes its masculine gender: der Geburtstag.
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