Breakdown of Der Schokolade naschende Junge findet die Auswahl besser als sein Bruder.
gut
good / well
finden
to find
der Junge
the boy
der Bruder
the brother
sein
his
die Schokolade
the chocolate
als
than
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
naschen
to nibble
die Auswahl
the selection
Questions & Answers about Der Schokolade naschende Junge findet die Auswahl besser als sein Bruder.
How does the structure of Der Schokolade naschende Junge work?
This is an extended participle attribute. While English puts the action after the noun (the boy nibbling chocolate), German squeezes the whole phrase between the definite article (Der) and the noun (Junge). The present participle naschende acts like an adjective, and its own object (Schokolade) is placed right in front of it.
Why does the participle have an -e ending (naschende)?
Because present participles used before a noun follow the exact same rules as regular adjectives. Junge is a masculine singular noun in the nominative case. Since the definite article Der already shows the case and gender clearly, the participle gets the weak adjective ending -e.
Why is it sein Bruder (nominative) instead of seinen Bruder (accusative)?
When making a comparison with als, the noun after it takes the same case as the thing it is being compared to. Here, the brother is being compared to the subject of the sentence, the boy (nominative). It means the boy likes the selection more than his brother does. If you used the accusative seinen Bruder, it would literally mean the boy finds the selection better than he finds his own brother!
Could I just use the verb essen here instead of naschen?
You could, but naschen is much more descriptive and natural for this context. It specifically means to nibble on treats, snack on sweets, or sneak a bite of something delicious. It is the perfect verb for enjoying chocolate, whereas essen is just the general word for eating.
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