Word
Der Kellner empfiehlt dem Gast den Wein.
Meaning
The waiter recommends the wine to the guest.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Kellner empfiehlt dem Gast den Wein.
der Wein
the wine
der Kellner
the waiter
der Gast
the guest
empfehlen
to recommend
Questions & Answers about Der Kellner empfiehlt dem Gast den Wein.
Why does dem Gast come before den Wein in this sentence?
In German, when a sentence has two noun objects, the Dative object (the person receiving something, here dem Gast) usually comes before the Accusative object (the thing being acted upon, here den Wein). This is why the waiter recommends 'to the guest the wine'.
How do I know which word should be in the Dative case and which in the Accusative case?
Think about the roles in the sentence. The verb empfiehlt (recommends) involves a thing being recommended and a person receiving that recommendation. The thing recommended (den Wein) is the direct object and takes the Accusative case. The receiver (dem Gast) is the indirect object and takes the Dative case.
Why is the verb spelled empfiehlt with an 'ie' instead of just an 'e'?
The verb empfehlen (to recommend) is a strong verb that changes its stem vowel from 'e' to 'ie' in the du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms. Since der Kellner is a 'he', the correct conjugation is empfiehlt.
Why does the word for wine use the article den?