Breakdown of Ich verstehe seinen Glauben nicht.
ich
I
verstehen
to understand
nicht
not
sein
his
der Glaube
the belief, the faith
Questions & Answers about Ich verstehe seinen Glauben nicht.
Why is it Glauben instead of Glaube?
The noun der Glaube (the faith or belief) belongs to a special group of masculine nouns that use the n-declension. When these nouns are in any role other than the subject (nominative), they add an -n or -en to the end. Since it is the direct object (accusative case) here, Glaube becomes Glauben.
Why does the possessive word sein change to seinen here?
The word sein (his) must match the gender, number, and case of the noun it describes. Because Glaube is a masculine noun acting as the direct object (accusative case), the accusative ending -en is added, making it seinen.
Why is nicht at the very end of the sentence?
When you negate an entire action or a specific, known direct object (like his faith), nicht typically goes to the end of the sentence. Here, it negates the verb verstehen, telling us that the understanding itself is what is not happening.
This lesson teaches the conjunction dass (that). How would I use it to say 'I do not understand that he believes'?
You would use a subordinate clause and say: Ich verstehe nicht, dass er glaubt. Notice how a comma separates the main clause from the dass clause, and the conjugated verb glaubt is pushed to the very end!
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