Breakdown of Wir brauchen nicht nur Kleidung, sondern auch essbare Lebensmittel.
auch
also, too
wir
we
brauchen
to need
nicht
not
Questions & Answers about Wir brauchen nicht nur Kleidung, sondern auch essbare Lebensmittel.
How does the word essbare work, and what does the -bar ending mean here?
The suffix -bar is added to the verb essen (to eat) to show that something can be done to it, similar to the English endings -able or -ible. So essbar means edible. It is a great way to express a passive possibility (something can be eaten) by just forming an adjective.
Why is there an -e at the end of essbare?
The noun Lebensmittel is plural and in the accusative case because it is the direct object of brauchen. Since there is no article like die or meine in front of it, the adjective has to do the heavy lifting to show the case and takes the strong plural ending -e.
Why do we use sondern here instead of aber?
We use sondern instead of aber whenever we are correcting or expanding on a negative statement. Furthermore, nicht nur ... sondern auch is a fixed pairing that means not only ... but also. You will always see them used together this way.
Does Lebensmittel always mean groceries, or can it just mean food?