Breakdown of Der Drache sprang und fing den Vogel.
und
and
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Vogel
the bird
der Drache
the dragon
Questions & Answers about Der Drache sprang und fing den Vogel.
How do I know the simple past (Präteritum) form of springen is sprang?
Springen is an irregular (strong) verb. In the Präteritum, strong verbs change their stem vowel rather than adding a regular -te ending. The vowel change here is from i to a (springen becomes sprang). Because the subject is third-person singular (der Drache), we do not add any extra ending to this new stem.
What verb does fing come from?
It comes from fangen (to catch). This is another strong verb where the stem vowel changes in the simple past tense, shifting from a to i (fangen becomes fing). Just like with sprang, the third-person singular form takes no extra endings in the Präteritum.
Why does the sentence just say und fing instead of und er fing?
Because und connects two verbs (sprang and fing) that share the exact same subject (der Drache). In German, just like in English, you can drop the pronoun in the second clause to avoid repeating it.
Drache ends in -e. Does that mean it is a feminine noun?