Breakdown of Die Anfänger verbeugen sich schweigend und zeigen eine gute Haltung.
ein
a, an (eine)
und
and
gut
good / well
zeigen
to show
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
schweigen
to be silent
der Anfänger
the beginner
sich verbeugen
to bow
die Haltung
the posture
Questions & Answers about Die Anfänger verbeugen sich schweigend und zeigen eine gute Haltung.
How do we get the word schweigend for "silently"?
It comes from the verb schweigen (to remain silent). By adding a -d to the infinitive, you get the present participle schweigend. German often uses these participles as adverbs to describe how an action is done, similar to English words ending in "-ing" or "-ly".
Why is the word sich needed after verbeugen?
The German verb for "to bow" is reflexive: sich verbeugen (literally, "to bow oneself"). Because the subject Die Anfänger is third-person plural (they), the reflexive pronoun used is sich.
Since this lesson is about double accusative verbs, does zeigen take two accusatives?
No, zeigen (to show) is not a double accusative verb like lehren or kosten. It takes a normal direct object in the accusative case, which is eine gute Haltung here. If you wanted to state who they are showing the posture to, that person would be in the dative case.
Why does the adjective have an -e in eine gute Haltung?
Haltung (posture) is a feminine noun. In this sentence, it is the direct object (accusative case). After the feminine indefinite article eine, the adjective gut takes the mixed inflection ending for the feminine accusative, which is -e.
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