Word
Jene Rubine funkeln rot.
Meaning
Those rubies sparkle red.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Jene Rubine funkeln rot.
When would I use jene instead of the more common diese?
Jene means "those" (as opposed to "these"). It is used to point out things that are further away in space or time, often contrasting with something closer (diese). If you were holding diamonds but looking at rubies across the room, you might say: Diese Diamanten sind weiß, aber jene Rubine funkeln rot.
Why does the demonstrative take the exact form jene here?
The word jener declines exactly like the definite articles (der, die, das). Because Rubine is plural and in the nominative case (it is the subject of the sentence), it takes the -e ending, just like the plural article die.
Since the sentence is about plural rubies, why doesn't rot have a plural ending like rote?
In German, adjectives only take endings when they come directly before the noun they describe (like in the phrase jene roten Rubine). Here, rot comes after the verb and acts as an adverb describing how they sparkle. Adverbs and predicative adjectives never take endings in German.
Is funkeln the standard verb for jewels sparkling?