Word
In den Ferien schlafe ich länger und lese viele Bücher.
Meaning
During the holidays I sleep longer and read many books.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of In den Ferien schlafe ich länger und lese viele Bücher.
und
and
in
in
ich
I
lang
long
schlafen
to sleep
das Buch
the book
lesen
to read
viel
many
die Ferien
the holidays
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Questions & Answers about In den Ferien schlafe ich länger und lese viele Bücher.
Why is Ferien always plural and why do we say in den Ferien?
German treats Ferien ("holidays/vacation") as a plural‐only noun. When in expresses a time period ("during"), it takes the dative case. The dative plural of die Ferien is den, so you say in den Ferien.
What’s the difference between Ferien and Urlaub?
Both can translate as "vacation," but Ferien refers to school or university breaks (e.g. Christmas ferien, summer ferien), whereas Urlaub is time off work.
Why does schlafe come before ich in the first clause?
German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position. Since In den Ferien occupies position 1, the verb schlafe must follow immediately, pushing the subject ich to position 3.
Why is there no comma before und?
When und links two verbs that share the same subject in one main clause, you do not use a comma. Here schlafe and lese share ich, so it’s …schlafe ich länger und lese viele Bücher.
Why is länger used instead of mehr or längeres?
länger is the comparative of lang ("long"), meaning "longer." mehr means "more" in terms of quantity, and längeres would be an adjective needing a noun (e.g. längeres Schlafen).
Why is it viele Bücher and not viel Bücher?
viele is used with countable plural nouns. viel (no -e) is used with uncountables (e.g. viel Zeit, viel Wasser). Since Bücher is countable, you need viele Bücher.
Why do we have two verbs (schlafe and lese), and why is lese also in second position?
The sentence coordinates two main clauses with und. Each clause obeys the V2 rule:
- In den Ferien (1) schlafe (2) ich länger
- (Ich) (1) lese (2) viele Bücher
We omit the second ich for brevity: …und lese viele Bücher.
Could we say während der Ferien instead of in den Ferien?
Yes. während means "during" and takes the genitive: während der Ferien. It’s slightly more formal than in den Ferien, which uses the dative.