Breakdown of Die Bekenntnisse werden im Tagebuch gefunden.
finden
to find
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Tagebuch
the diary
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
das Bekenntnis
the confession
Questions & Answers about Die Bekenntnisse werden im Tagebuch gefunden.
How does the plural of Bekenntnis work here, and why is there a double 's' in Bekenntnisse?
Nouns ending in the suffix -nis (like das Bekenntnis) form their plural by adding -se. Because the suffix ends in a single 's', German spelling rules require doubling that 's' to keep the preceding 'i' vowel sound short. This results in the predictable plural ending -nisse.
Is there a rule for the gender of nouns ending in -nis, like the singular of Bekenntnisse?
Yes, mostly! The majority of abstract nouns ending in -nis are neuter, such as das Bekenntnis (the confession) or das Geheimnis (the secret). However, a few common ones are feminine, like die Erlaubnis (the permission) or die Kenntnis (the knowledge). It is safest to guess neuter, but you should memorize the few feminine exceptions as you meet them.
Why is werden used here instead of sind to translate the English word 'are'?
This sentence uses the action passive voice to describe a process ('are found' or 'are being found'). In German, this passive is formed with a conjugated form of werden plus the past participle (gefunden). If you used sind, it would form the state passive, describing a completed state ('they are already in a state of having been found').
Why does the sentence use im Tagebuch instead of ins Tagebuch?
Tagebuch is a neuter noun (das Tagebuch). The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the confessions are simply located inside the diary (answering 'where?'), we use the dative case. The words in + dem contract to im. If an action involved moving them into the diary (answering 'where to?'), you would use the accusative ins (in + das).
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