Breakdown of Ich habe seit gestern einen Schnupfen.
ich
I
haben
to have
seit
since, for (time)
gestern
yesterday
der Schnupfen
the head cold
Questions & Answers about Ich habe seit gestern einen Schnupfen.
Why is the present tense habe used here instead of a past tense like in English?
In German, when a state or action started in the past and is still ongoing in the present, you use the present tense combined with seit (since/for). English uses the present perfect ("I have had"), which often tempts learners to use a past tense in German. Here, you are literally saying "I have since yesterday a cold."
I usually learn Erkältung for "cold". What is the difference between Erkältung and Schnupfen?
Eine Erkältung is a general cold, which might include a cough, a sore throat, or fatigue. Ein Schnupfen specifically refers to a runny or stuffy nose. If you say you have einen Schnupfen, native speakers know your main symptom is the sniffles.
Why does the time expression seit gestern come before the object einen Schnupfen?
This follows the standard German word order principle where time elements come early in the sentence. Time expressions like seit gestern usually appear right after the conjugated verb and almost always before the direct object (einen Schnupfen). This is a big contrast to English, which typically puts the time expression at the very end of the sentence.
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