Breakdown of Der Hund wurde müde, deshalb streichelte das kleine Kind ihn.
das Kind
the child
der Hund
the dog
klein
small
müde
tired
ihn
him
werden
to become / to get (change of state)
deshalb
therefore / that is why
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
streicheln
to pet
Questions & Answers about Der Hund wurde müde, deshalb streichelte das kleine Kind ihn.
How do we form the simple past tense in streichelte?
streichelte is the simple past of the regular (weak) verb streicheln (to pet). To form the simple past for regular verbs, you take the verb stem (streichel-) and add the past tense marker -te. Because the subject is the third-person das kleine Kind, no extra ending is needed.
Why does the verb streichelte come before the subject das kleine Kind?
The clause starts with deshalb (therefore/so), which is an adverb. When an adverb takes up the first position in a clause, the verb must stay in its strict second position. This forces the verb streichelte to come immediately before the subject.
Why use the pronoun ihn at the end instead of es?
In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Because der Hund is a masculine noun, we must use a masculine pronoun. Since the dog is the direct object receiving the action, we use the accusative form ihn.
Is wurde also a regular verb in the simple past?
No, wurde (got/became) is the simple past of werden. Unlike streichelte, which is a regular verb that adds a -te ending, werden is an irregular strong verb. It changes its internal stem vowel to show the past tense instead of using the regular marker.
Why is the adjective ending das kleine Kind and not das kleines Kind?
Because the definite article das already clearly shows that the noun is neuter, the adjective does not need to show the gender again. It just takes the standard weak ending -e for a nominative subject.
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