Breakdown of Ein guter Ofen kann das Brot schnell backen.
ein
a, an (eine)
schnell
fast, quickly
gut
good / well
das Brot
the bread
können
can / to be able to
backen
to bake
der Ofen
the oven
Questions & Answers about Ein guter Ofen kann das Brot schnell backen.
Why does the adjective gut have an -er ending here (guter)?
This is the main rule for adjective endings after ein. Ofen is a masculine noun acting as the subject (nominative case). Because the word ein does not have a special ending to show it is masculine, the adjective has to do the heavy lifting. It takes the strong masculine ending -er.
Why is backen at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence uses the modal verb kann (can). A major rule in German is that the conjugated modal verb takes the second position in the sentence, pushing the main action verb (backen) to the very end in its original dictionary form.
Why doesn't the word schnell have an ending like guter does?
Because schnell isn't describing a noun in this sentence. It is acting as an adverb describing the verb backen—it tells us how the oven bakes (quickly). In German, words used as adverbs never get endings.
Is das Brot in the nominative case?
No, das Brot is the direct object (the thing being baked), so it is in the accusative case. It just looks like the nominative because neuter nouns use das for both cases!
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