Questions & Answers about Nachts schlafen die Kinder.
Why does the verb schlafen come before the subject die Kinder?
In German, the conjugated verb must always take the second position in a standard sentence. Because this sentence starts with the time word Nachts (position 1), the verb schlafen takes position 2, and the subject die Kinder is pushed right after it to position 3.
We are learning about verbs that change their vowels. Why doesn't schlafen have a vowel change here?
Vowel changes in strong verbs only ever happen in the singular du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms. Because the subject here is plural (die Kinder, meaning 'they'), the verb takes the regular plural ending -en and keeps its original dictionary vowel.
Why does the word for night have an 's' at the end (Nachts)?
Adding an -s to times of the day creates an adverb that means 'at that time' or 'regularly at that time.' So while die Nacht is the noun for 'the night,' nachts means 'at night.' It is only capitalized in this sentence because it is the very first word.
How can I tell that die Kinder means 'the children' and not just one child?
The singular word for child is das Kind. To make it plural, German adds -er to the end, making it Kinder. You can also tell it is plural because it uses die (which is always the plural 'the') and the verb schlafen has the plural -en ending.
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