Breakdown of Der Prinz kam und sprach mit der Königin.
und
and
kommen
to come
sprechen
to speak
mit
with
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Königin
the queen
der Prinz
the prince
Questions & Answers about Der Prinz kam und sprach mit der Königin.
Why don't kam and sprach have a -te ending for the past tense?
Because they are irregular (strong) verbs. In the simple past (Präteritum), regular verbs get a -te ending, but strong verbs change their stem vowel instead. For the first person (ich) and third person singular (er/sie/es or der Prinz), strong verbs take no ending at all! So kam and sprach are just the changed stems.
How do I know the vowels change to a in kam and sprach?
You have to memorize them, just like English irregular verbs. Kommen changes to kam, and sprechen changes to sprach. Many strong verbs change their stem vowel to a or o in the Präteritum, so looking out for those letters is a good trick when reading stories.
Wait, isn't Königin a feminine word? Why does it say der Königin?
Yes, die Königin is feminine! However, the preposition mit (with) is a dative preposition, meaning it always forces the noun that follows into the dative case. In the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der.
Why is there no subject after und? Shouldn't it be und er sprach?
You can say und er sprach, but you don't have to. Just like in English, when two actions connected by und share the exact same subject (der Prinz), you can drop the subject the second time.
Learn Der Prinz kam und sprach mit der Königin and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free