Breakdown of Sport stärkt einen und gibt einem Selbstvertrauen.
und
and
geben
to give
der Sport
the sports
man
one / you (impersonal)
stärken
to strengthen
das Selbstvertrauen
the self-confidence
Questions & Answers about Sport stärkt einen und gibt einem Selbstvertrauen.
Why do we use einen in the first half of the sentence instead of man?
einen is the accusative form of the impersonal pronoun man (which means 'one' or 'you' in a general sense). The verb stärken (to strengthen) requires a direct object, which must be in the accusative case. You cannot use man as an object, because man only ever exists in the nominative case as a subject.
Why does the pronoun change to einem in the second half of the sentence?
einem is the dative form of man. The verb geben (to give) typically takes two objects: the thing being given is in the accusative case (Selbstvertrauen), and the person receiving it is in the dative case. Since 'you' (the general person) are receiving the self-confidence, we must use the dative pronoun einem.
The English translation says 'Sports' (plural). Why is Sport singular in the German sentence?
When talking about physical exercise or sports in general, German treats Sport as a singular, uncountable noun. Because the subject is singular, the verbs in the sentence must also be conjugated in the third-person singular (stärkt and gibt).
Why isn't there a subject pronoun like er or es after und?
When two clauses are connected by und (and) and share the exact same subject (Sport), you don't need to repeat the subject for the second verb. The sentence flows more naturally by just connecting the two verbs (stärkt and gibt) directly to the single subject.
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