Dieser Hund trinkt Wasser.

the dog

Breakdown of Dieser Hund trinkt Wasser.

• trinken: to drink
• das Wasser: the water
• dieser: this

Questions & Answers about Dieser Hund trinkt Wasser.

What does Dieser mean in this sentence, and why is it Dieser instead of Diese or Dieses?

Dieser is a demonstrative determiner meaning “this”. In German, demonstratives agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. Here, Hund is masculine, singular, and in the nominative case (because it’s the subject of the sentence). The correct masculine nominative form is Dieser.

• Diese would be feminine nominative (e.g. diese Katze).
• Dieses would be neuter nominative (e.g. dieses Kind).

Why is Hund in the nominative case here?

In German, the nominative case marks the subject of a sentence—the person or thing performing the action. Since Hund is performing the action trinkt (“drinks”), it must be in the nominative case. You can spot the nominative by asking “Who or what is drinking?” → “Dieser Hund.”

Why is the verb trinkt at the second position in the sentence?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) word order. That means the finite verb must come in the second position, regardless of what comes first (subject, adverb, etc.). Here the subject “Dieser Hund” is first, so the verb “trinkt” comes second.

Why does trinken become ? How do we form that?