Breakdown of Die Tastatur und die Maus sind sauber.
sein
to be
und
and
sauber
clean
die Tastatur
the keyboard
die Maus
the mouse
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Questions & Answers about Die Tastatur und die Maus sind sauber.
Why is the article die used before both Tastatur and Maus?
Because both Tastatur and Maus are feminine nouns in the nominative case. The nominative singular feminine article in German is die, so each noun gets die.
Do you have to repeat the article when you list two nouns with und?
Not always. If the two nouns share the same gender, case, and number, you can repeat the article for clarity or omit it before the second noun:
• With repetition: die Tastatur und die Maus
• Without repetition: die Tastatur und Maus
Both are correct, but repeating often sounds clearer, especially in formal writing.
Why is the verb sind and not ist?
Because the subject is plural: Tastatur und Maus counts as “two items,” so the verb must be in the third‑person plural. The plural form of sein (“to be”) is sind. If there were only one item, you would use ist.
Why is sauber not inflected to saubere or another adjective ending?
Here sauber is used predicatively—that is, it follows a form of sein and describes the subject. Predicative adjectives in German remain uninflected. If you used sauber attributively (directly before a noun), you would need an ending, e.g. eine saubere Tastatur.
Why are Tastatur and Maus capitalized?
In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in a sentence. That’s why you see Tastatur and Maus with initial capitals.
Why isn’t there a comma before und?
German does not use a comma when only two items are connected by und. Commas are required in German only for lists of three or more coordinated elements or to separate independent clauses in certain contexts.
What does Maus mean here? Could it also mean the animal?
Yes. Maus can mean either a computer mouse or the animal “mouse.” Context tells you which one. Because Tastatur (keyboard) is mentioned, you know Maus refers to the computer device here.
Where is the verb in this sentence, and why is it there?
In German main clauses, the finite verb typically occupies the second position (V2 rule). Here the first position is taken by the full subject (Die Tastatur und die Maus), so the verb sind comes next. Any other element in first position (e.g. a time adverbial) would push the subject to third place but leave sind in second.