Breakdown of Der Maschine fehlt die Kreativität.
fehlen
to be missing
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Maschine
the machine (mechanical)
die Kreativität
the creativity
Questions & Answers about Der Maschine fehlt die Kreativität.
Why is it Der Maschine (dative) instead of Die Maschine if the machine is the one lacking something?
The verb fehlen (to lack / to be missing) works differently than in English. In German, the thing that is missing is actually the subject (nominative), and the person or thing experiencing the lack takes the dative case. So, this sentence literally translates to "To the machine (der Maschine) is lacking the creativity (die Kreativität)."
How would I add meiner Meinung nach (in my opinion) to the beginning of this sentence?
You would say: Meiner Meinung nach fehlt der Maschine die Kreativität. Because of the V2 (verb second) rule, the phrase meiner Meinung nach takes up the first position, so the verb fehlt must come immediately after it in position 2.
Isn't Maschine a feminine noun? Why does it use der here?
Yes, Maschine is feminine (die Maschine). However, as a quick refresher, because it is the dative object in this sentence, the feminine article die changes to der in the dative case.
Why does the sentence use die Kreativität when the English translation is just "creativity"?
In German, abstract nouns—words for concepts, feelings, or qualities like creativity, life, or time—often require a definite article (der, die, or das). English usually drops the article for these general concepts.
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