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Questions & Answers about Der Hund trinkt Wasser.
Why is der used for Hund instead of die or das?
In German, Hund is a masculine noun, so the masculine definite article der is used. Other nouns in German can be feminine (die) or neuter (das).
Why is it trinkt instead of trinken or trinkst?
Trinkt is the third-person singular form of the verb trinken. Since der Hund corresponds to er (he/it), the correct verb form is er trinkt.
Why does Wasser not have a definite article like das Wasser here?
Wasser (water) is a mass noun. When talking about water in general, an article is often omitted. If you were referring to specific water, you could say das Wasser.
Could I say Der Hund das Wasser trinkt?
Typical German sentence structure places the verb in the second position, so Der Hund trinkt das Wasser is preferred. Der Hund das Wasser trinkt sounds unnatural and would rarely, if ever, be used in modern language.
Why are Hund and Wasser both capitalized?
In German, all nouns start with a capital letter, regardless of their position in the sentence. Hund and Wasser are both nouns, so they must be capitalized.