Breakdown of Man kann die beiden Wohnungen nicht vergleichen.
nicht
not
die Wohnung
the apartment
können
can / to be able to
man
one / you (impersonal)
beide
both
vergleichen
to compare
Questions & Answers about Man kann die beiden Wohnungen nicht vergleichen.
Why does this sentence use die beiden instead of die zwei?
Both die beiden and die zwei mean "the two", but die beiden is much more common in German when referring to a specific pair of things you have just been talking about, similar to saying "both" in English. You use die zwei more when emphasizing the exact number.
Why does nicht come right before vergleichen?
In a sentence with a modal verb like kann, the main verb (vergleichen) goes to the very end. When you negate the entire action of the sentence (the act of comparing), nicht is placed as close to the end as possible, sitting directly before that final infinitive verb.
Why is Man translated as "You" here?
Man is an impersonal pronoun meaning "one", "people in general", or "you" (in the general sense). In everyday English, we usually say "You cannot compare..." rather than the highly formal "One cannot compare...", making "You" the most natural translation.
The current lesson is about proportional comparisons like je ... desto. How does this sentence fit in?
While the lesson focuses on the grammar of saying "the bigger, the better", this sentence introduces the root verb vergleichen (to compare). It is a useful building block: before making complex proportional comparisons, you need to know how to talk about the act of comparing itself!
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