Breakdown of Eine gute Spülmaschine spart Zeit.
ein
a, an (eine)
gut
good / well
die Zeit
the time
sparen
to save
die Spülmaschine
the dishwasher
Questions & Answers about Eine gute Spülmaschine spart Zeit.
Why does the adjective gut get an -e ending here to become gute?
Spülmaschine is a feminine noun, and it is the subject of the sentence (nominative case). When a feminine noun in the nominative case comes after the indefinite article eine, the adjective gets the ending -e.
How can I tell that Spülmaschine is a feminine noun from this sentence?
You can see it from the feminine indefinite article eine. Also, a helpful rule of thumb is that compound nouns always take the gender of their last word. Since Maschine is feminine (like most German nouns ending in -e), Spülmaschine is feminine too.
What are the parts of the compound noun Spülmaschine?
It is made up of the verb stem spül- (from spülen, which means to wash or rinse) and the noun Maschine (machine). So it literally translates to a rinsing machine.
Why doesn't the word Zeit have an article in front of it?
Just like in English, when you talk about an unspecific amount of an uncountable concept like time, you leave out the article in German. You are just saving time in general, not a specific time.
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