Word
Der Mut des Kapitäns während der Krise war wirklich heldenhaft.
Meaning
The captain's courage during the crisis was truly heroic.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Mut des Kapitäns während der Krise war wirklich heldenhaft.
sein
to be
wirklich
really
der Kapitän
the captain
die Krise
the crisis
Questions & Answers about Der Mut des Kapitäns während der Krise war wirklich heldenhaft.
How is the word heldenhaft formed, and what exactly does the suffix -haft do here?
Heldenhaft is built from the noun der Held (the hero) and the suffix -haft. The suffix -haft is attached to nouns to mean "having the qualities of" or "acting like" that thing. The -en- in the middle is a linking element (which matches the plural form die Helden), making the whole word mean "hero-like" or "heroic."
Why is the genitive form des Kapitäns? Shouldn't a masculine noun ending like that use n-declension?
It is a common exception! Even though der Kapitän is a masculine noun ending in a foreign suffix (which often triggers n-declension, like der Präsident or der Student), it actually follows the standard strong declension. Therefore, it just takes an -s in the genitive case, becoming des Kapitäns instead of "des Kapitänen".
Why does the feminine noun die Krise change to der Krise in this sentence?
This is due to the preposition während (during), which requires the genitive case. Because Krise is a feminine noun, its definite article changes from die to der in the genitive.
If I wanted to emphasize the time by putting während der Krise at the beginning, how would the word order change?