Word
Der Kellner bringt die Speisekarte.
Meaning
The waiter brings the menu.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Der Kellner bringt die Speisekarte.
bringen
to bring
der Kellner
the waiter
die Speisekarte
the menu
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Questions & Answers about Der Kellner bringt die Speisekarte.
Why is Der Kellner used instead of Die Kellner or Das Kellner?
German nouns have grammatical gender. Kellner (meaning “waiter”) is a masculine noun. In the nominative singular (the subject of a sentence), masculine nouns take the article der. That’s why we say der Kellner.
Why is die Speisekarte used here, and what case is it?
Speisekarte (meaning “menu”) is a feminine noun. In the accusative singular (the direct object), feminine nouns also take the article die. Since die Speisekarte is what the waiter brings (the direct object), it appears in the accusative case.
How can I tell it’s the accusative case and not the nominative?
You identify cases by function in the sentence:
- Nominative: subject (who/what does the action) → Der Kellner
- Accusative: direct object (who/what receives the action) → die Speisekarte
Even though feminine die looks the same in nominative and accusative, you know Speisekarte is the object because it’s what’s being brought.
How is the verb bringen conjugated, and why is it bringt here?