Question 1

Why is it der Papagei in the nominative case here instead of accusative or dative?

Accepted Answer

The phrase wie der Papagei is an apposition (an addition that gives an example). When using wie for examples, the noun after wie takes the exact same case as the noun it refers to. Since Vögel is the subject of the sentence (nominative case), der Papagei must also be in the nominative case.

Question 2

Does the same case-matching rule apply to die Schildkröte?

Accepted Answer

Exactly. The noun die Schildkröte is an example for Reptilien. Because Reptilien is being compared directly to the nominative subject Vögel using als, it is also in the nominative case. Therefore, its example wie die Schildkröte must match and also be nominative.

Question 3

Vögel and Reptilien are plural, but der Papagei and die Schildkröte are singular. Is that a mismatch?

Accepted Answer

Not at all. When using wie to give an example, the grammatical case must match, but the number (singular or plural) does not have to. It is perfectly natural to use a singular example to represent a specific type within a plural category.

Question 4

I often see commas before wie and als. Why are there no commas in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In German, you do not use a comma before wie or als when they are just connecting words or phrases, such as noun comparisons. You would only use a comma if they were introducing a complete subordinate clause that has its own conjugated verb.

Vögel wie der Papagei sind lauter als Reptilien wie die Schildkröte.

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