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Questions & Answers about Wir haben eine Chance.
What is the gender of Chance and how do I know?
Chance is feminine (die Chance). Many German nouns ending in -e are feminine, but loanwords don’t always follow a strict pattern—you usually have to learn them case by case.
Why is Chance capitalized here?
All German nouns are capitalized, regardless of whether they come from English, French or any other language.
Why does the sentence use eine with Chance?
Because Chance is a feminine noun and it’s serving as the direct object of haben. The indefinite article for feminine accusative is eine.
What case is eine Chance in, and how can I tell?
It’s in the accusative case, since it’s the direct object of the verb haben. In German, articles and adjective endings change to reflect nominative, accusative, dative, or genitive. Here eine shows feminine accusative.
What word-order rule applies to Wir haben eine Chance?
In a German main clause the finite verb always comes in second position. Here you have:
- Subject (Wir)
- Verb (haben)
- Object (eine Chance)
How do you pronounce Chance in German?
It’s pronounced [ˈʃaŋ.sə]:
- Ch = /ʃ/ (like English sh)
- a = “ah”
- n nasalizes the vowel
- final e = schwa (/ə/)
Can I use Möglichkeit instead of Chance, and is there any nuance?
Yes, Möglichkeit (feminine) also means possibility. The nuance is:
- Chance often implies a probability or odds (e.g. winning chance).
- Möglichkeit is more neutral—simply an option or possibility.
How do I express the idea of still having or no longer having a chance?
• To say still having a chance: Wir haben noch eine Chance
• To say no longer having a chance: Wir haben keine Chance mehr
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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