Breakdown of Wir haben eine Idee und werden reich!
ein
a, an (eine)
und
and
haben
to have
die Idee
the idea
wir
we
werden
to become / to get (change of state)
reich
rich
Questions & Answers about Wir haben eine Idee und werden reich!
I thought werden meant 'will' for the future tense. Why does it mean 'are getting' here?
werden is indeed a helping verb for the future tense, but it can also be a main verb all on its own. When used by itself without another verb at the end of the sentence, it means 'to become' or 'to get'. Here, werden reich simply means 'become rich' or 'get rich'.
The translation says 'are getting', but the German sentence is in the simple present tense. How does that work?
German does not have a continuous '-ing' tense like English does. The simple present tense werden covers both 'we get' and 'we are getting' (or 'become' and 'are becoming'). You use the regular present tense to show that the change is happening right now.
Why isn't it und wir werden reich? Where did the second wir go?
Just like in English, you can drop the pronoun in the second half of the sentence if the subject is exactly the same. You could say und wir werden reich, but leaving out the second wir sounds very natural and avoids repetition.
Why does reich not have an adjective ending?
In German, adjectives only get endings (like -e or -er) when they are placed directly in front of a noun. Because reich comes after the verb werden and stands on its own, it stays in its basic dictionary form.
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