Breakdown of Das Schwein schläft im Stall.
schlafen
to sleep
im
in the; (masculine or neuter)
der Stall
the stable
das Schwein
the pig
Questions & Answers about Das Schwein schläft im Stall.
Why is it das Schwein and not der Schwein or die Schwein?
Because Schwein is a neuter noun in German, so its basic article is das.
- der = masculine
- die = feminine
- das = neuter
So the dictionary form is das Schwein.
This grammatical gender does not mean the pig is biologically male. It is just a grammar category. If you specifically wanted to say boar or sow, German has other words for that.
What exactly is das doing here?
In this sentence, das is the definite article, meaning the.
So:
- das Schwein = the pig
German articles change depending on gender, case, and number, so the is not always just one word in German.
Why is Schwein capitalized?
Because all nouns are capitalized in German.
So in this sentence:
- Schwein is a noun, so it gets a capital letter
- Stall is also a noun, so it gets a capital letter
- schläft is a verb, so it stays lowercase
This is one of the most noticeable spelling differences between English and German.
Why is the verb schläft and not schlafen?