Breakdown of Wir kaufen das Schränkchen und das Stühlchen.
und
and
kaufen
to buy
wir
we
das Schränkchen
the little cabinet
das Stühlchen
the little chair
Questions & Answers about Wir kaufen das Schränkchen und das Stühlchen.
Wait, aren't Schrank and Stuhl masculine nouns? Why does this sentence use das for both?
You are right that the original nouns are der Schrank and der Stuhl. However, whenever you add the diminutive suffix -chen (or -lein) to make something little, the new word automatically becomes neuter. That is why they must change to das Schränkchen and das Stühlchen.
Why do the vowels change to an umlaut in Schränkchen and Stühlchen?
When creating a diminutive with -chen or -lein, the main vowel of the root noun usually takes an umlaut if it is an a, o, or u. Therefore, the a in Schrank becomes an ä, and the u in Stuhl becomes an ü.
Since we are buying them, shouldn't the nouns be in the accusative case?
They are! The verb kaufen requires the accusative case for the direct objects being bought. But because both items are neuter nouns, their definite article das looks exactly the same in the accusative case as it does in the nominative case.
How would this sentence look if we were buying multiple little cabinets and little chairs?
It would be: Wir kaufen die Schränkchen und die Stühlchen. Nouns ending in -chen or -lein do not add an extra ending in the plural. Only the article changes to the plural die.
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