Ein alter Mann verkauft Blumen in der Stadt, und er ist sehr freundlich.

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Breakdown of Ein alter Mann verkauft Blumen in der Stadt, und er ist sehr freundlich.

• sein: to be
• und: and
• in: in
• alt: old
• die Stadt: the city
• er: he
• sehr: very
• die Blume: the flower
• verkaufen: to sell
• freundlich: friendly

Questions & Answers about Ein alter Mann verkauft Blumen in der Stadt, und er ist sehr freundlich.

Why is it alter and not alte before Mann?

In German, when you use an indefinite article (ein) in the nominative case with a masculine noun (Mann), the adjective (alt) takes the ending -er to become alter. This declension pattern is part of the strong adjective endings used after indefinite articles.

Why do we say in der Stadt instead of in die Stadt?

Because in der Stadt implies being located within the city (dative case for location). in die Stadt would describe motion towards the city (accusative case for direction). In the sentence, the man is actually selling flowers in the city, so it’s a location, requiring the dative: in der Stadt.

What does the verb verkauft tell us about the tense?

Verkauft is in the present tense. In German, the simple present tense can express both the English simple present (he sells) and the present progressive (he is selling). So here, ein alter Mann verkauft Blumen can be understood as an old man sells flowers or an old man is selling flowers.

Why is it und er ist sehr freundlich and not something like und er sehr freundlich?

In German, you need a main verb in every independent clause. After und, we introduce another clause — er ist sehr freundlich. The verb ist (the third-person singular of sein) is required here to form the complete sentence.

Is it common in German to connect sentences with und this way?

Yes, it’s perfectly common to use und (meaning and) to join two clauses in a single sentence. It’s similar to English usage. It simply connects two related ideas: that he sells flowers and that he is very friendly.