Breakdown of Die Bewertung hilft anderen Mitgliedern, einen guten Roman zu finden.
finden
to find
gut
good
helfen
to help
das Mitglied
the member
der Roman
the novel
die Bewertung
the rating
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Questions & Answers about Die Bewertung hilft anderen Mitgliedern, einen guten Roman zu finden.
What rule tells me that Bewertung is a feminine noun and takes die?
In German, all nouns ending in -ung are feminine. That means Bewertung must be feminine and uses die in the singular nominative. Since die Bewertung is the subject of the sentence, it stays in the nominative case.
Why is helfen followed by anderen Mitgliedern in the dative case?
The verb helfen always takes a dative object in German. Whoever is being helped must be in the dative. Here, anderen Mitgliedern (“other members”) is plural dative:
- Mitglied → plural Mitglieder
- Dative plural adjective ending: andere → anderen
So you get anderen Mitgliedern.
Why isn’t there an article before anderen Mitgliedern, like den anderen Mitgliedern?
Omitting the article makes anderen Mitgliedern indefinite (“other members” in general). If you said den anderen Mitgliedern, you’d refer to “the other members” specifically. Without an article, the adjective carries the full (strong) declension, so andere becomes anderen in dative plural.
What is the structure of einen guten Roman zu finden, and why is there a comma before it?
That phrase is an infinitive clause (Infinitivsatz) with zu, explaining what die Bewertung helps anderen Mitgliedern do: “to find a good novel.” German requires a comma before an infinitive clause when it has its own (understood) subject different from the main clause. Here, anderen Mitgliedern is understood as the subject of zu finden, so you insert the comma.
Why does the adjective guten end with -en in einen guten Roman?
Roman is masculine singular and in the accusative case (it’s the object of finden). The indefinite article einen already marks gender and case, so the adjective takes the weak/mixed ending -en, giving you guten.
Could I say gute Romane in the plural instead of einen guten Roman in the singular? How would that change the sentence?
Yes. You could say:
Die Bewertung hilft anderen Mitgliedern, gute Romane zu finden.
This means “The review helps other members find good novels” (plural). Here, gute has no ending because it’s plural with no article (strong declension).
Why does the infinitive clause einen guten Roman zu finden appear at the end of the sentence?
In German main clauses, the finite verb occupies second position (here hilft), and non-finite elements—like zu-infinitives—typically go at the very end, after all subjects and objects.