Breakdown of Ein guter Freund stärkt einen.
ein
a, an (eine)
gut
good / well
der Freund
the friend
man
one / you (impersonal)
stärken
to strengthen
Questions & Answers about Ein guter Freund stärkt einen.
Why do we use einen instead of man at the end of the sentence?
The pronoun man (one) can only be used as the subject of a sentence (Nominative case). Here, the subject doing the action is Ein guter Freund. Since the pronoun is receiving the action of the verb stärken (to strengthen), it is the direct object and must be in the Accusative case, which changes man to einen.
Why don't we use the Dative form einem here?
The verb stärken takes a direct object, just like the English equivalent does (you strengthen someone). Direct objects take the Accusative case in German, so we need einen. If this sentence used a verb that requires an indirect object, such as helfen (to help), you would use the Dative einem instead.
Why does the adjective have an -er ending in Ein guter Freund?
Freund is a masculine noun acting as the subject (Nominative case). Because the indefinite article ein does not have an ending to show that the noun is masculine, the adjective has to do the heavy lifting. It takes the strong masculine ending -er to make the gender clear.
Does einen sound as formal in German as 'one' does in English?
Not at all! While English speakers often avoid 'one' because it sounds stiff, man, einen, and einem are extremely common in everyday, casual German. When translating this to natural English, it often makes more sense to use a general 'you' or 'us' (for example: 'A good friend gives you strength').
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