Breakdown of Sind Sie mit dem Arzt verwandt?
sein
to be
Sie
you (formal)
der Arzt
the doctor
mit
with
verwandt
related
Questions & Answers about Sind Sie mit dem Arzt verwandt?
Why is the preposition mit used when the English translation says 'to'?
In German, the adjective verwandt (related) always takes the fixed preposition mit. Prepositions rarely translate one-to-one between languages, so it helps to memorize the combination verwandt mit (literally 'related with') rather than trying to translate the English 'to'.
Why does der Arzt change to dem Arzt in this sentence?
The preposition mit always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. Since Arzt is a masculine noun (der Arzt), the article changes to dem in the dative.
Why doesn't the adjective verwandt get an ending here?
Adjectives only take endings in German when they come directly before a noun, like in ein guter Arzt (a good doctor). In this sentence, verwandt comes after the verb to describe the subject (Sie). This is called a predicate adjective, and it always stays in its base form without any extra endings.
How does verwandt connect to the German word for 'relatives'?
They share the exact same root! To talk about 'a relative' in German, you turn this adjective into a noun: ein Verwandter (a male relative) or eine Verwandte (a female relative). Because they are nominalized adjectives, their endings change depending on the grammar of the sentence just like regular adjectives do.
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