Breakdown of Der Astronaut wollte einen neuen Stern entdecken.
ein
a, an (eine)
neu
new
wollen
to want
entdecken
to discover
der Stern
the star
der Astronaut
the astronaut
Questions & Answers about Der Astronaut wollte einen neuen Stern entdecken.
Why is it wollte instead of will?
wollte is the simple past tense of the modal verb wollen (to want). In German, it is much more common to use this simple past form for modal verbs rather than the spoken past tense (Perfekt) like hat gewollt.
Why does the adjective neu have an -en ending here?
Stern (star) is a masculine noun receiving the action, which puts it in the accusative case. When an adjective follows an indefinite article like einen in the accusative masculine, it must take the -en ending, making it neuen.
Why is entdecken at the very end of the sentence?
This is the standard rule for modal verbs. The conjugated modal verb (wollte) takes the second position, pushing the main action verb (entdecken) to the very end of the sentence in its basic infinitive form.
Since this lesson is about superlatives, how would I say he wanted to discover the 'newest' star?
You would change the phrase to den neuesten Stern entdecken. You start with the superlative base neuest- and add the accusative masculine adjective ending -en because it follows the definite article den.
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