Wir wählen entweder die Ratenzahlung oder das Lastschriftmandat.

Because in a normal German main clause, the finite verb usually comes in second position. Here, Wir is in the first position, so wählen must come next:

• Wir = position 1
• wählen = position 2

Then the rest of the sentence follows.

So:

• Wir wählen entweder ... oder ... = correct
• Wir entweder wählen ... = not normal German word order

German is stricter than English about this verb-second pattern.

Entweder ... oder ... means either ... or ....

It introduces two alternatives:

• entweder die Ratenzahlung
• oder das Lastschriftmandat

This is very similar to English either ... or ....

A useful thing to know is that German often keeps this pair together when presenting a choice. In everyday speech, people sometimes leave out entweder and just use oder, but with entweder ... oder ... the contrast is clearer and more explicit.

In German, nouns are usually used with an article much more often than in English. Here, both choices are specific noun phrases, so each one keeps its own article:

• die Ratenzahlung
• das Lastschriftmandat

You cannot normally say:

• Wir wählen entweder Ratenzahlung oder Lastschriftmandat

in standard German if you mean these as regular countable options in a sentence like this. The articles make the phrase sound complete and natural.

Because German nouns have grammatical gender.

• Ratenzahlung is feminine, so it takes die
• Lastschriftmandat is neuter, so it takes das

This gender is something you usually need to learn together with each noun. It does not always match anything logical or biological, especially for abstract or compound nouns.

A good habit is to memorize nouns with their article:

• die Ratenzahlung
• das Lastschriftmandat

not just the noun by itself.

They are in the accusative case, because they are the direct objects of wählen.

The verb wählen here means to choose/select, and what you choose is in the accusative.

So:

• wir = subject
• wählen = verb
• die Ratenzahlung / das Lastschriftmandat = direct objects in the accusative

In this sentence, the articles happen to look the same as in the nominative:

• feminine singular: die → nominative and accusative are the same
• neuter singular: das → nominative and accusative are the same

So the case is accusative, even though the forms do not change visibly here.

Yes, wählen can mean both to choose/select and to vote/elect, depending on context.

For example:

• Ich wähle die Ratenzahlung. = I choose the installment payment option.
• Ich wähle eine Partei. = I vote for a party.

In your sentence, the objects are payment-related options, so wählen clearly means choose/select, not vote.

Because German often forms compound nouns by joining words together.

Ratenzahlung is made from:

• Rate = installment
• Zahlung = payment

Together, Ratenzahlung means a payment made in installments.

This is very common in German. Instead of writing separate words, German usually combines them into one noun. The final part often gives the basic category of the word:

• Zahlung is the core noun, so Ratenzahlung is a kind of payment

For the same reason: it is a compound noun.

It combines:

• Lastschrift = direct debit
• Mandat = mandate/authorization

So Lastschriftmandat is a kind of authorization related to direct debit.

Again, German normally writes this as one word, not as separate words. English often prefers separate words, but German commonly builds longer compounds.

Yes. You could say:

Wir wählen die Ratenzahlung oder das Lastschriftmandat.

That is still grammatically correct.

However, entweder ... oder ... makes it clearer that these are two alternative options and that only one of them is being chosen. It sounds a bit more deliberate and structured, like English either ... or ....

In standard German, the subject pronoun is usually stated explicitly, so wir is needed here.

German verbs do change depending on the subject:

• ich wähle
• du wählst
• wir wählen

But unlike languages such as Spanish or Italian, German normally does not drop the subject pronoun in ordinary sentences.

So:

• Wir wählen ... = normal
• Wählen ... by itself would usually sound incomplete unless it is an imperative or part of a special context

Yes, wählen is in the present tense: wir wählen.

In German, the present tense is often used not only for things happening now, but also for planned or current decisions, and sometimes even for the future if the context is clear.

So this sentence could mean something like:

• we are choosing
• we choose
• we will choose

depending on context.

If the sentence appears in a form, contract, or instructions, it often simply states the choice in a neutral, present-tense way.

Yes. You could also say:

Wir wählen entweder das Lastschriftmandat oder die Ratenzahlung.

That is grammatically fine. The meaning changes only in emphasis or presentation order, not in basic grammar.

The structure stays the same:

• Wir wählen
• entweder X oder Y

So whichever option appears first is just the first alternative mentioned.