Der Mann ist betrunken.

the man

Breakdown of Der Mann ist betrunken.

• sein: to be
• betrunken: drunk

Questions & Answers about Der Mann ist betrunken.

Why does the sentence start with Der?

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.

Why is Mann capitalized?

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.

What case is der Mann in?

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

What does ist mean grammatically?