Word
Bieten Sie Ihrer Schwester einen Tee an?
Meaning
Do you offer your sister a tea?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Bieten Sie Ihrer Schwester einen Tee an?
ein
a, an (eine)
Sie
you (formal)
der Tee
the tea
Ihr
your (formal)
Questions & Answers about Bieten Sie Ihrer Schwester einen Tee an?
Why does Ihrer Schwester come before einen Tee?
In German, when a sentence has two noun objects, the dative object (the receiver, Ihrer Schwester) usually comes before the accusative object (the thing being given or offered, einen Tee).
Why is it Ihrer Schwester and not Ihre Schwester?
The verb anbieten (to offer) takes a dative object for the person receiving the offer. Because Schwester is a feminine noun, the formal possessive word Ihre (your) takes the feminine dative ending -r, becoming Ihrer.
What is the word an doing at the very end of the sentence?
It is the prefix of the separable verb anbieten (to offer). In a yes/no question, the conjugated part of the verb (bieten) moves to the first position, while the separable prefix (an) is sent to the very end of the sentence.
Why is it einen Tee instead of just ein Tee?
Tee is a masculine noun. Because it is the direct object here (the thing being offered), it must be in the accusative case. This changes the masculine article from ein to einen.