Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Die Frau zeigt ihre Blume.
What is the meaning of Die Frau zeigt ihre Blume in English, and what does each word translate to?
The sentence translates as “The woman shows her flower.” Here, Die is the feminine definite article, Frau means “woman,” zeigt is the third person singular form of zeigen (to show), and ihre Blume means “her flower,” with ihre indicating possession.
Why is the article die used with Frau?
In German, the definite article die is used for feminine nouns in the nominative case. Since Frau (woman) is a feminine noun, die is the appropriate article to mark it as a specific or previously known entity.
How is the verb zeigt formed, and why is this form used?
Zeigt is the third person singular present tense form of the verb zeigen (to show). It is used here because the subject, Die Frau, is singular. The verb must agree with its subject in both number and person, which is why zeigt is chosen.
What role does the possessive adjective ihre play in this sentence?
The possessive adjective ihre indicates ownership, meaning “her” in this context. It shows that the flower belongs to the woman. Additionally, ihre is declined to match the gender (feminine) and case (accusative) of Blume.
Why is Blume in the accusative case?
Blume is the direct object of the sentence—the item being shown. In German, the direct object takes the accusative case, which is why Blume is in that form and its accompanying adjective ihre is also declined accordingly.
Is the word order in Die Frau zeigt ihre Blume similar to English, and what is its structure?
Yes, the word order is quite similar to English. The structure follows the Subject-Verb-Object order: Die Frau (subject), zeigt (verb), and ihre Blume (object). This mirrors the English sentence “The woman shows her flower.”