Breakdown of Die Leute warten lange und werden müde.
und
and
die Leute
the people
müde
tired
lange
for a long time, long
warten
to wait
werden
to become / to get (change of state)
Questions & Answers about Die Leute warten lange und werden müde.
Why is "get tired" translated with werden? Doesn't bekommen mean "to get"?
This is a classic "false friend"! In German, bekommen means "to receive" (like getting a gift or a letter). When "get" means "to become" or describes a change of state (like getting tired, getting old, or getting angry), you must use the verb werden.
Why is the verb form werden here and not wird?
The subject of the sentence is die Leute (the people), which is a plural noun. The present tense "they" form of the verb is werden. If the subject were singular, like "the man" (der Mann), it would be wird (der Mann wird müde).
Why doesn't the sentence say "...und sie werden müde"?
Just like in English ("The people wait and get tired"), you don't need to repeat the subject pronoun if it is the exact same subject doing both actions. Die Leute is the subject for both warten and werden. You could add sie after und, but leaving it out is very common and natural.
Why is there an "e" at the end of lange?
When you talk about a duration of time (meaning "for a long time"), you use the adverb lange. The word lang without the "e" is generally used as an adjective to describe the physical length of something, like a long street.
Is Leute always a plural word?
Yes! Leute translates to "people" as an informal group of individuals, and it only ever exists in the plural form. That is why it takes the plural verb forms warten and werden.
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