Word
Wir wollen ein eigenes Haus.
Meaning
We want a house of our own.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Wir wollen ein eigenes Haus.
Why isn't there a second verb like haben at the end of the sentence?
In German, modal verbs like wollen (to want) can often be used without a main verb if the action is obvious from the context. Saying Wir wollen ein eigenes Haus perfectly implies Wir wollen ein eigenes Haus haben (to have) or kaufen (to buy).
Why does the adjective eigen end in -es here?
Haus is a neuter noun (das Haus) and is the direct object (accusative case) in this sentence. Because the indefinite article ein does not show the neuter gender on its own, the adjective must step up and show it by taking the strong -es ending, becoming eigenes.
How would this sentence look if we wanted 'the same house' instead of 'a house of our own'?
You would replace ein eigenes with the demonstrative pronoun dasselbe. The sentence would be Wir wollen dasselbe Haus (We want the same house). Note that dasselbe acts as both the article and the adjective, combining das and selbe into one word without needing ein.
Does eigenes always translate specifically to 'of our own'?
No, eigen simply means 'own.' The English translation adapts to the subject of the sentence. Here, because the subject is Wir (we), it translates to 'our own.' If the sentence were Sie will ein eigenes Haus, it would translate to 'She wants a house of her own.'