Breakdown of Das Kind kaut laut, anstatt dass es den Gast grüßt.
es
it
das Kind
the child
laut
loud, loudly
der Gast
the guest
anstatt dass
instead of (+ subordinate clause)
kauen
to chew
grüßen
to greet
Questions & Answers about Das Kind kaut laut, anstatt dass es den Gast grüßt.
How does anstatt dass affect the word order in the second half of the sentence?
anstatt dass (instead of) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it sends the conjugated verb (grüßt) to the very end of its clause. The subject (es) comes right after the conjunction.
Could we use an infinitive phrase here, like anstatt zu grüßen?
Yes! Because the subject is the exact same in both clauses (Das Kind and es), you have the option to use the shorter anstatt ... zu (instead of doing) structure. You could say: Das Kind kaut laut, anstatt den Gast zu grüßen. Native speakers often prefer this shorter version when the subjects match.
Why does the second clause use the pronoun es to refer to the child?
Grammatical gender determines the pronoun in German. Since the word for child is neuter (das Kind), you must use the neuter pronoun es when referring back to it, even though a child is a person.
Why is the guest written as den Gast instead of der Gast?
den Gast is in the accusative case because the guest is the direct object receiving the action of the verb grüßt (greeting). Since Gast is a masculine noun, der changes to den in the accusative case.
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