Breakdown of Wir streichen das Haus und brauchen Farbe dafür.
und
and
das Haus
the house
wir
we
brauchen
to need
Questions & Answers about Wir streichen das Haus und brauchen Farbe dafür.
Why do we use dafür at the end of the sentence instead of für es?
In German, when a preposition (like für) is followed by an "it" that refers to an inanimate object, action, or idea (here, the act of painting the house), you combine them into a "da-compound." Instead of saying für es (for it), you use dafür. You generally only use für ihn, für sie, or für es when referring to living things like people or pets.
I thought the German word for "to paint" was malen. Why use streichen here?
It depends on what you are painting! malen is used for creating art, like painting a picture on a canvas. streichen is used for painting surfaces, like walls, furniture, or a house. It literally means "to stroke" or "to coat," which makes perfect sense for putting a layer of paint on a building.
Why is there no wir before brauchen? Shouldn't it be "... und wir brauchen"?
You can definitely say ... und wir brauchen, but it isn't necessary. Just like in English ("We are painting the house and need paint"), when the subject is exactly the same for both halves of a sentence connected by und, you can leave the second subject out. It makes the sentence flow more naturally.
Why is there no article (like die or eine) before Farbe?