Breakdown of Wir brauchen unbedingt ein Mückenspray, aber ich sehe hier keins.
ich
I
ein
a, an (eine)
hier
here
aber
but
wir
we
brauchen
to need
sehen
to see
unbedingt
absolutely
keiner
none / not one (sister forms: keins, keine)
das Mückenspray
the bug spray
Questions & Answers about Wir brauchen unbedingt ein Mückenspray, aber ich sehe hier keins.
Why is it keins at the end instead of just kein?
In this sentence, keins is acting as a pronoun—it completely replaces the noun Mückenspray. Because das Mückenspray is a neuter noun and acts as the direct object (accusative case) of what you see, the pronoun gets the -s ending. If it were placed right in front of the noun as an article, it would just be kein Mückenspray.
How do we know the gender for Mückenspray?
In German compound words, the very last word always determines the gender. Since it is das Spray, the whole word is neuter: das Mückenspray. (The first part comes from die Mücke, meaning mosquito or gnat).
Why doesn't the verb sehe come right after aber?
The word aber (but) is a coordinating conjunction. These types of connecting words occupy "position zero" in a clause, meaning they don't count towards the standard word order. Therefore, ich is in position 1, and the verb sehe stays safely in position 2.
What is the literal meaning of unbedingt?
It translates literally to "unconditionally" (related to die Bedingung, meaning "the condition"). German speakers use unbedingt all the time to emphasize that they "absolutely" or "without a doubt" need, want, or have to do something.
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