Breakdown of Wir brauchen drei Glas Wasser für diesen Extrakt.
das Wasser
the water
wir
we
brauchen
to need
drei
three
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
für
for
das Glas
the glass
der Extrakt
the extract
Questions & Answers about Wir brauchen drei Glas Wasser für diesen Extrakt.
Why is it drei Glas and not drei Gläser?
What if I am talking about three physical drinking glasses, not a measurement?
If you mean the actual objects rather than a unit of measurement, you use the normal plural form. For example, if you are buying glassware or washing the dishes, you would say drei Gläser. But since the glasses here are just a way to measure the water, you use the zero-plural drei Glas.
Why is there no word for 'of' in drei Glas Wasser?
When you use a unit of measurement or quantity in German, you just put the substance directly after it. You do not need a preposition like von to express 'of'. You just say the unit and then the substance side by side.
Why does the sentence use diesen Extrakt instead of dieser Extrakt?
The preposition für always requires the accusative case. Since Extrakt is a masculine noun (der Extrakt), the word for 'this' must change to its masculine accusative form, which is diesen.
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