Questions & Answers about Wir essen jetzt. Guten Appetit!
Why doesn't the German sentence use a word for "are" to say "are eating"?
In German, there is no separate tense for "are eating" (the present continuous). The simple present tense essen covers both "we eat" and "we are eating". You just say Wir essen jetzt (We eat now).
What does Guten Appetit literally translate to?
It literally translates to "good appetite." It is the standard polite phrase to say in German right before everyone starts eating a meal, just like saying "enjoy your meal" or "bon appétit" in English.
Why does it say Guten instead of just Gut?
The phrase is actually a shortened version of "I wish you a good appetite." Because you are wishing it, the masculine noun Appetit becomes the direct object (this is called the accusative case). That means the describing word gut needs the -en ending.
Could I start the first sentence with jetzt?
Yes! You can absolutely say Jetzt essen wir. Notice that the verb essen must always stay in the second position of a regular sentence, so the subject wir has to swap places and move after the verb.
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