Word
Ich bin ein Mann.
Meaning
I am a man.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Ich bin ein Mann.
Why do we use ein here instead of eine?
The word Mann is a masculine noun. In the nominative case, masculine and neuter nouns use ein to mean a or an. You would use eine for feminine nouns, like eine Frau (a woman).
Why is Mann written with a capital letter?
In German, every single noun (a word for a person, place, thing, or idea) is capitalized. Since Mann (man) is a noun, it gets a capital letter even though it is at the end of the sentence.
What is the dictionary form of the verb bin?
bin comes from the irregular verb sein, which means to be. Just like in English we say I am instead of I be, in German you must change the verb to match the pronoun: Ich bin.
Why is ein Mann in the nominative case? Isn't it the object of the sentence?
The verb sein (to be) is special. Instead of an action happening to an object, it acts like an equals sign (Ich = ein Mann). Because of this, both sides of the equation stay in the basic nominative case.