Questions & Answers about Ich frage den Verkäufer.
Why is it den Verkäufer and not der Verkäufer?
In German, the person or thing you are asking is the direct object of the sentence. Direct objects take the accusative case. Because Verkäufer is a masculine noun (der Verkäufer), the article changes from der to den.
Why doesn't the German sentence use a word for "am" like "Ich bin frage"?
German doesn't have an "-ing" continuous tense like English does. The simple present tense form ich frage covers both "I ask" and "I am asking". You never use the verb sein (to be) to say that you are currently doing an action.
How would I say "I asked the shop assistant" in the Perfekt tense?
You would say: Ich habe den Verkäufer gefragt. The verb fragen (to ask) is a regular verb, so its past participle simply gets the standard ge- at the front and -t at the end.
Does the noun Verkäufer have anything to do with the inseparable verbs we are learning in this lesson?
Yes! It comes from the verb verkaufen (to sell), making a Verkäufer literally a "seller". Because verkaufen starts with the inseparable prefix ver-, it follows the rule you are learning right now: its past participle is simply verkauft, without adding a ge-.
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