Breakdown of Wir kaufen das Wörterbuch und den Ring.
und
and
kaufen
to buy
wir
we
das Wörterbuch
the dictionary
der Ring
the ring
Questions & Answers about Wir kaufen das Wörterbuch und den Ring.
Why is it den Ring instead of der Ring?
Ring is a masculine noun. Because it is the direct object being bought, it is in the accusative case. For masculine nouns, der changes to den in the accusative.
Why does das Wörterbuch stay as das? Isn't it also being bought?
Yes, it is also a direct object in the accusative case! However, only masculine nouns change their "the" word in the accusative. Neuter nouns like das Wörterbuch and feminine nouns look exactly the same whether they are the subject or the direct object.
This lesson is about double objects (dative and accusative). Where is the dative object in this sentence?
There isn't one here! This sentence simply has two accusative direct objects joined by und (and). If we wanted to add a dative object to say who we are buying these things for, we would add a person, like in Wir kaufen dem Mann den Ring (We are buying the man the ring).
If I wanted to replace das Wörterbuch and den Ring with pronouns, what would they be?
Since Wörterbuch is neuter, it becomes es (it). Since Ring is masculine and in the accusative case, it becomes ihn (it). If you were just buying the dictionary, you would say Wir kaufen es. If you were just buying the ring, you would say Wir kaufen ihn.
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