Questions & Answers about Die Ärztin hilft dem Kind.
Why is it dem Kind instead of das Kind?
In English, we just say "helps the child", but in German, the verb helfen (to help) always requires the dative case. This means the person receiving the help must be put into the dative form. Since Kind is a neuter noun (das Kind), the word for "the" changes from das to dem.
Why is the verb spelled hilft? Shouldn't it be helft since the infinitive is helfen?
helfen is an irregular verb. When you conjugate it for "he", "she", or "it" (like the doctor here), the vowel in the middle changes from "e" to "i". That is why it becomes sie hilft (she helps) instead of "sie helft".
How does the word for doctor (Arzt) become Ärztin?
To talk about a female professional in German, you usually add the ending -in to the male job title. With some short words like der Arzt (the male doctor), the main vowel also gets an umlaut. This combination gives us die Ärztin (the female doctor).
Does hilft mean "helps" or "is helping"?
It means both! German doesn't have a separate continuous tense (the "-ing" form) like English does. Depending on the context, Die Ärztin hilft can translate perfectly to either "The doctor helps" or "The doctor is helping".
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