Breakdown of Die Krankenschwester arbeitet viel.
arbeiten
to work
viel
much / a lot
die Krankenschwester
the nurse (female)
Questions & Answers about Die Krankenschwester arbeitet viel.
What does the word Krankenschwester literally mean?
It is a compound word made of Kranken (the sick) and Schwester (sister). Historically, nursing in hospitals was done by Catholic nuns, hence "sister of the sick". A male nurse is usually called a Krankenpfleger (carer of the sick).
Why is there an extra 'e' in arbeitet?
The base part (stem) of the verb arbeiten (to work) is arbeit-. Because it ends in a 't', adding the usual 't' ending for "she works" would make the unpronounceable arbeitt. German adds a helper 'e' to make it arbeitet.
This lesson is about giving commands. How would I tell a friend "Work a lot!" using this verb?
You would say Arbeite viel! Normally, to tell one person to do something informally, you just drop the ending from the infinitive (like geh or mach). But just like in the previous question, because arbeit- ends in a 't', you must keep an 'e' at the end of the command so you can actually pronounce it.
Why is it viel and not viele?
Viel translates to "a lot" or "much". It doesn't get an ending when it describes an action, like working. You only add an 'e' to make viele (many) when you are talking about a plural count of things, like viele Krankenschwestern (many nurses).
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