Word
Welches Halsband geben Sie ihm?
Meaning
Which collar are you giving him?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Welches Halsband geben Sie ihm?
Sie
you (formal)
geben
to give
ihm
him / it / to him / to it (dative)
welcher
which (welcher, welche, welches, welchen, welchem...)
Questions & Answers about Welches Halsband geben Sie ihm?
Why is it welches and not just welche or welchen?
The word welch- changes its ending to match the gender and case of the noun it goes with. Halsband is a neuter noun (das Halsband), and in this sentence, it is the direct object (the thing being given). This means it is in the accusative case. The ending for neuter accusative words is -es, giving us Welches Halsband.
Why does the sentence start with the object (Welches Halsband) instead of the subject (Sie)?
In German question-word questions (W-questions), the question word or phrase must come first, followed immediately by the verb. Here, the entire phrase Welches Halsband (Which collar) acts as the question block, so it takes the first position. The verb geben stays in the second position, pushing the subject Sie (you) to the third spot.
Why is the word for "him" ihm here instead of ihn?
The verb geben (to give) usually takes two objects: the thing you give (direct object, accusative) and the person receiving it (indirect object, dative). The receiver is always in the dative case. ihm is the dative form of "him", whereas ihn is the accusative form.
How do I know the gender of a word like Halsband?