Der Mann ist betrunken.

Der is the definite article, meaning the. In this sentence, Mann is a masculine singular noun in the nominative case, so the correct article is der.

German articles change depending on:

• gender
• number
• case

So here:

• Mann = masculine
• singular
• subject of the sentence

That gives der Mann.

In German, all nouns are capitalized. So Mann starts with a capital M because it is a noun.

This is different from English, where common nouns are usually lowercase.

It is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence, the person being described.

A useful way to see it:

• Der Mann = who the sentence is about
• ist betrunken = what is being said about him

Ist is the 3rd person singular form of the verb sein (to be).

The present-tense forms of sein are:

• ich bin
• du bist
• er/sie/es ist
• wir sind
• ihr seid
• sie/Sie sind

Since der Mann is he, German uses ist.

This is a normal German main clause, and in main clauses the conjugated verb usually comes in second position.

So the pattern is:

• Der Mann = first element
• ist = conjugated verb in second position
• betrunken = the rest of the predicate

This is one of the most important word-order rules in German.

Because betrunken is part of the predicate, not the conjugated verb. In a simple main clause, the conjugated verb goes in second position, and descriptive words like betrunken often come later.

So:

• ist = the finite verb
• betrunken = predicate adjective

This is very natural German word order.

Because here betrunken is used after the verb sein and functions as a predicate adjective. Predicate adjectives in German do not take adjective endings.

So you say:

• Der Mann ist betrunken.

But if the adjective comes before the noun, it does take an ending:

• der betrunkene Mann

That contrast is very important:

• der Mann ist betrunken = predicate adjective, no ending
• der betrunkene Mann = attributive adjective, with ending

It is historically the past participle of betrinken/sich betrinken, but in this sentence it is being used like an adjective.

That happens a lot in German. Some participles behave very much like adjectives:

• betrunken = drunk
• verheiratet = married
• geschlossen = closed

So in this sentence, it is best to think of betrunken as a descriptive word meaning the man’s state.

Yes, but it means something slightly different in structure.

• Der Mann ist betrunken. = The man is drunk.
• Der betrunkene Mann = the drunk man

The first is a full sentence. The second is just a noun phrase.

Also notice the adjective ending:

• after sein: betrunken
• before a noun: betrunkene

You would usually use nicht:

• Der Mann ist nicht betrunken.

Here, nicht negates betrunken. In other words, it means the man is not drunk.

You would change the article, noun, and possibly the verb form.

Examples:

• Die Frau ist betrunken. = singular feminine
• Die Männer sind betrunken. = plural
• Die Frauen sind betrunken. = plural feminine

Notice:

• singular: ist
• plural: sind

And betrunken stays the same here because it is still a predicate adjective.

Both can mean drunk, but betrunken is more neutral and standard. Besoffen is more informal and can sound rougher.

So for learners, betrunken is usually the safer word to use first.

A rough guide is:

dehr mahn ist beh-TRUN-ken

A few points:

• der sounds somewhat like dehr
• Mann has a short a, like mahn but shorter
• ist is short and clear
• betrunken has the stress on trun

If you want to sound natural, say it smoothly as one unit: Der Mann ist betrunken.