Word
Sie verkauft ein altes Regal und wir kaufen ein neues Bett.
Meaning
She is selling an old shelf and we are buying a new bed.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Sie verkauft ein altes Regal und wir kaufen ein neues Bett.
ein
a, an (eine)
sie
she
und
and
kaufen
to buy
Questions & Answers about Sie verkauft ein altes Regal und wir kaufen ein neues Bett.
Why do the adjectives get an "-es" ending (altes, neues)?
Both Regal (shelf) and Bett (bed) are neuter nouns (das Regal, das Bett). In this sentence, they are the direct objects, which puts them in the accusative case. When a neuter noun in the accusative follows the indefinite article ein, its adjective takes an -es ending.
If these nouns are in the accusative case, why is the article just ein and not einen?
The article only changes to einen for masculine nouns. Because Regal and Bett are neuter, the indefinite article ein looks exactly the same in the accusative case as it does in the nominative (subject) case. The adjective's -es ending is what steps up to show the neuter gender!
Is there an easy way to remember the difference between kaufen and verkaufen?
Yes! kaufen means "to buy". Adding the prefix ver- completely flips the meaning to "to sell" (verkaufen). You will see this ver- prefix flip meanings for other verbs too, like mieten (to rent) and vermieten (to rent out).
Could Sie verkauft also mean "They sell" or "You sell"?