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Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder.

Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder.
Our club supports sports for children.
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Questions & Answers about Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder.

Why is it Unser Verein and not Wir Verein?

Wir means we and is a subject pronoun.
Unser means our and is a possessive determiner (like my, your, his, her, our in English).

In the sentence, Verein (club) is the subject, and you want to say our club. So you need the possessive form:

  • wir = we
  • unser Verein = our club

Using wir Verein would be like saying we club in English, which is ungrammatical.

Why is it Unser Verein and not Unseren Verein or Unserem Verein?

This is about case.

  • Verein is the subject of the sentence → nominative case.
  • Verein is masculine: der Verein.

Possessive determiners like unser decline like ein:

  • Masculine nominative: unser Verein
  • Masculine accusative: unseren Verein
  • Masculine dative: unserem Verein

Since the club is doing the action (promoting sport), it is the subject, so you need nominative:

  • Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder. ✅
  • Wir unterstützen unseren Verein. (Here, Verein is the object → accusative.)
What exactly does Verein mean, and how is it different from Club/Klub?

Verein is usually:

  • a formal association or organization, often registered (e.g. sports clubs, cultural associations, charities)
  • often written and spoken as der Verein, plural die Vereine

Club/Klub is:

  • used more for informal or social clubs (dance club, tennis club, night club)
  • feels a bit more modern or casual in some contexts

In many contexts, both can translate as club, but:

  • Sportverein = sports association/club (very common, often official)
  • Sportclub = sports club (also used, sometimes more brand-like or informal)

In your sentence, Verein suggests an organized group, possibly an officially registered association.

What does fördert mean here, and what is the infinitive?

The infinitive is fördern.

fördert is:

  • 3rd person singular
  • present tense
  • of the verb fördern

Conjugation in the present tense:

  • ich fördere
  • du förderst
  • er / sie / es fördert
  • wir fördern
  • ihr fördert
  • sie / Sie fördern

In this context, fördern means:

  • to promote, to support, to encourage

So the idea is: the club actively supports or promotes children’s sport.

How is fördern different from unterstützen or bewerben?

All three can relate to helping or promoting something, but they are used differently:

  • fördern

    • to promote, encourage, foster, develop
    • often used for education, talent, culture, sport, projects
    • Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder.
    • Die Schule fördert begabte Schüler.

  • unterstützen

    • to support (more general and often more concrete)
    • can be emotional, financial, practical support
    • Die Stadt unterstützt unseren Verein finanziell.

  • bewerben (sich bewerben / etwas bewerben)

    • sich bewerben (um/für) = to apply (for a job, program)
    • etwas bewerben = to advertise something, to promote as in marketing
    • Die Firma bewirbt ihr neues Produkt im Fernsehen.

So fördern is the most natural in your sentence, because it is about supporting the development of sport for children, not just advertising it.

Why is there no article before Sport? Why not den Sport?

In German, Sport is often used as a general or abstract noun without an article, similar to water or music in English in some contexts:

  • Ich treibe Sport. = I do sport / I exercise.
  • Sport ist gesund. = Sport is healthy.

When you talk about sport in general, you normally leave out the article:

  • Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder. = Our club promotes sport for children (in general).

You would use den Sport when you mean sport as a specific, known thing:

  • Unser Verein fördert den Sport in unserer Stadt.
    (Here, den Sport refers to the sports activity scene in that town as a specific entity.)
What is the difference between Sport and Sportarten?

  • Sport = sport in general / physical activity / sports as a concept

    • Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder. (general)

  • Sportart (plural Sportarten) = a type or kind of sport (e.g., football, tennis, swimming)

    • Unser Verein bietet verschiedene Sportarten für Kinder an.
      = Our club offers various types of sport for children.

So use:

  • Sport if you talk about the general activity.
  • Sportarten if you want to emphasize the different kinds of sport.
Why is it für Kinder and not für Kindern?

The preposition für always takes the accusative case in German.

  • für
    • accusative

Examples:

  • für mich
  • für dich
  • für ihn / sie / es
  • für uns
  • für euch
  • für sie

With nouns:

  • für das Kind (singular, accusative)
  • für die Kinder (plural, accusative)
  • für Kinder (without article)

So Kinder here is accusative plural, which has the same form as nominative plural for this noun. Kindern would be dative plural, which does not work with für, because für never takes dative.

Why is there no article before Kinder? Could I say für die Kinder?

Yes, you could say für die Kinder, but it changes the meaning slightly.

  • für Kinder

    • general, indefinite
    • means for children in general (any children)

  • für die Kinder

    • more specific
    • means for the children (e.g., the children you already know or have just mentioned)

In your sentence, Sport für Kinder is a general statement about offering sport to children in general, so leaving out the article is natural.

What is the singular of Kinder, and what gender is it?

The singular is das Kind.

  • Gender: neuter
  • Singular: das Kind
  • Plural: die Kinder

Some basic forms:

  • Nominative: das Kind / die Kinder
  • Accusative: das Kind / die Kinder
  • Dative: dem Kind / den Kindern
  • Genitive: des Kindes / der Kinder

In Sport für Kinder, Kinder is plural accusative.

Where would nicht go if I want to negate the sentence?

You have a few options, depending on what exactly you want to negate.

  1. Negating the existence of such an activity at all (no sport for children):

    • Unser Verein fördert keinen Sport für Kinder.
      (using keinen Sport – the noun is negated)

  2. Negating the whole statement, more vaguely:

    • Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder nicht.
      (sounds a bit heavy; often you’d prefer option 1 in practice)

  3. Negating Sport für Kinder specifically (emphasizing for children):

    • Unser Verein fördert Sport, aber nicht für Kinder.

The most idiomatic way to say our club does not promote sport for children is:

  • Unser Verein fördert keinen Sport für Kinder.
Can I change the word order to Sport für Kinder fördert unser Verein?

Yes, this is grammatically possible, but it changes the emphasis and sounds more marked.

German allows you to put something other than the subject in the first position to emphasize it. If you move Sport für Kinder to the front, you must invert subject and verb:

  • Sport für Kinder fördert unser Verein.

This emphasizes Sport für Kinder (that is what is being promoted, as opposed to something else). It might sound stylistic or rhetorical. The neutral, everyday word order is still:

  • Unser Verein fördert Sport für Kinder.
How do I pronounce fördert, especially the ö and the -rt at the end?

Pronunciation tips:

  • ö:

    • Shape your lips as if you’re saying o,
    • but say a sound like e in her (British English), keeping the lips rounded.
    • It’s a front, rounded vowel: similar to French eu in peur.

  • r in fördert:

    • In standard German, this is often a uvular sound at the back of the throat (like a French r).
    • At the end of a syllable, er can sound like a weak a plus a soft r, so -dert can sound a bit like dert with a slightly reduced vowel.

Syllable stress:

  • för-dert (two syllables)
  • Stress on för: FÖR-dert.