Questions & Answers about Der Hund folgt dem Kind.
Why is it dem Kind instead of das Kind when the child is what the dog is following?
The verb folgen (to follow) is a dative verb. In English, "the child" is a direct object, but German requires the dative case for the person or thing being followed. That is why the neuter article das becomes dem.
Does folgen use haben or sein in the past tense?
It uses sein. Because folgen involves movement from one place to another, its Perfekt (spoken past) form requires the helper verb sein: Der Hund ist dem Kind gefolgt.
How could I use this sentence with nachdem (after) to practice tense sequencing?
To say "After the dog had followed the child, it barked", you use the Plusquamperfekt (past perfect) in the nachdem clause to show it happened first, and a regular past tense in the main clause: Nachdem der Hund dem Kind gefolgt war, bellte er.
If I want to emphasize the child, can I change the word order?
Yes, you can say: Dem Kind folgt der Hund. By putting the dative object dem Kind in the first position, you emphasize it. The verb folgt must stay in the second position, so the subject der Hund simply moves right after the verb.
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