Breakdown of Er sieht eine kleine Träne und lacht.
ein
a, an (eine)
er
he
und
and
klein
small
lachen
to laugh
sehen
to see
die Träne
the tear
Questions & Answers about Er sieht eine kleine Träne und lacht.
Why is the adjective ending -e in eine kleine Träne?
Because Träne is a feminine noun (die Träne) and is the direct object of the sentence, which puts it in the accusative case. When an adjective follows the feminine indefinite article eine in the accusative, it takes the ending -e.
Does Träne mean a teardrop, or a tear like a rip in a piece of paper?
It specifically means a teardrop (from crying). While English uses the spelling 'tear' for both crying and ripping, German differentiates. A tear or rip in paper or fabric would be der Riss, and the verb 'to tear' is reißen.
Why does the verb sehen become sieht rather than seht?
sehen (to see) is a strong (irregular) verb. In the present tense, its stem vowel changes from e to ie for the second and third person singular forms. This gives us du siehst and er/sie/es sieht.
Why is there no subject before lacht?
Just like in English, when two verbs are connected by the coordinating conjunction und and they share the exact same subject, you don't need to repeat the pronoun. The subject er applies perfectly to both sieht and lacht.
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