Breakdown of Nach einem Streit suchen die Geschwister einen fairen Kompromiss.
Questions & Answers about Nach einem Streit suchen die Geschwister einen fairen Kompromiss.
The preposition nach always takes the dative case (when it means after in a temporal sense).
- Streit is masculine: der Streit.
- The dative singular of a masculine noun with the indefinite article is einem.
So:
- Nominative: ein Streit
- Accusative: einen Streit
- Dative: einem Streit ← required by nach
That’s why the correct phrase is nach einem Streit.
In this context, Streit is a general word for a conflict between people, usually verbal:
- It can mean argument, row, quarrel, or sometimes fight (but usually not a physical fight).
- It fits well for siblings who shout at each other, disagree strongly, etc.
Other related words:
- die Auseinandersetzung – a (often more serious or formal) dispute.
- die Streitigkeit – a quarrel/dispute (often a bit more formal or legal).
- der Konflikt – a conflict (more abstract/neutral).
Streit is the most common everyday word for a “fight/argument” between siblings, partners, friends, etc.
In German, a prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence (like Nach einem Streit) does not require a comma if it’s just a phrase and not a full clause.
- Nach einem Streit suchen die Geschwister … → just an introductory phrase, no verb inside → no comma.
- Compare with a subordinate clause:
Nachdem sie sich gestritten haben, suchen die Geschwister …
Here Nachdem sie sich gestritten haben is a full clause (with subject and verb), so it needs a comma.
So there’s no comma because Nach einem Streit is only a phrase, not a clause.
Yes, you could say:
- Nachdem sie gestritten haben, suchen die Geschwister einen fairen Kompromiss.
Difference in nuance:
Nach einem Streit
– focuses on the event (a dispute) as a thing.
– more compact, a bit more neutral.Nachdem sie gestritten haben
– is a temporal clause (“after they have argued”).
– emphasizes the action and the people involved.
Both express “after they have had an argument,” but Nach einem Streit is stylistically simpler and a very typical written/narrative pattern.
German word order rule: the conjugated verb must be in the second position of a main clause.
Positions are counted by chunks/phrases, not individual words:
- Nach einem Streit – first position (a prepositional phrase)
- suchen – second position (the finite verb)
- die Geschwister – everything else follows
So the order must be:
- Nach einem Streit suchen die Geschwister …
You could also say:
- Die Geschwister suchen nach einem Streit einen fairen Kompromiss.
Here Die Geschwister is position 1, suchen is position 2.
But Nach einem Streit die Geschwister suchen … is wrong in a main clause, because the verb is not in 2nd position.
Yes, that’s perfectly correct:
- Die Geschwister suchen nach einem Streit einen fairen Kompromiss.
Meaning: essentially the same.
Difference:
- Nach einem Streit suchen die Geschwister …
– puts emphasis first on the time frame (“after a quarrel”). - Die Geschwister suchen nach einem Streit …
– starts with the people; more neutral/default word order.
Both are natural. The original version just foregrounds the timing.
With suchen, German allows two patterns:
etwas suchen (direct object in accusative)
- Die Geschwister suchen einen fairen Kompromiss.
nach etwas suchen (prepositional object with nach + Dativ)
- Die Geschwister suchen nach einem fairen Kompromiss.
Both are possible and correct here. The difference is very small:
- etwas suchen is slightly more direct.
- nach etwas suchen makes the “searching” idea a bit stronger or more process-focused.
In this sentence, using the direct object (einen fairen Kompromiss) is completely natural.
Yes, Geschwister means siblings.
A few important points:
- Geschwister is usually used as a plural-only noun for brothers and/or sisters together.
- die Geschwister = the siblings (plural).
- It does not tell you whether they are brothers, sisters, or a mix; it just says they are siblings.
Singular forms:
- der Bruder – (male) brother
- die Schwester – (female) sister
- das Geschwister exists in theory as a singular, but is very rare in modern everyday German. You basically just say Bruder or Schwester.
Because here die is the plural definite article, not the feminine singular.
German definite articles:
- Masculine:
- Nominative: der Streit, der Kompromiss
- Feminine:
- Nominative: die Schwester
- Neuter:
- Nominative: das Kind
- Plural for all genders:
- Nominative: die Geschwister, die Kinder, die Freunde
So die Geschwister is plural (“the siblings”), not feminine singular.
einen fairen Kompromiss is:
- Accusative singular masculine
Breakdown:
- Kompromiss: masculine noun – der Kompromiss
- In accusative singular masculine, the indefinite article is einen.
- After einen (a “weak” determiner), the adjective takes the ending -en:
einen fairen Kompromiss
Pattern:
- Nominative: ein fairer Kompromiss
- Accusative: einen fairen Kompromiss
So the whole phrase is the direct object of suchen.
fair in German is indeed a loanword from English, but it’s very common and feels fully natural and neutral in modern German.
It usually means:
- just / equitable / impartial in behavior or decisions.
In this sentence:
- ein fairer Kompromiss = a compromise that is just to everyone, not one-sided, not cheating anyone.
Other options:
- ein gerechter Kompromiss – more “just, in accordance with justice/morality”; can sound a bit more formal or serious.
- ein ausgewogener Kompromiss – a balanced compromise.
Here fair is completely idiomatic.
All three are natural but describe slightly different stages:
einen Kompromiss suchen
– to look for a compromise; focus on the process of trying to find it.einen Kompromiss finden
– to find a compromise; focus on the result, success.einen Kompromiss schließen
– to conclude / agree on a compromise; similar to “strike a deal”; very common in more formal or negotiative contexts.
In your sentence, suchen is appropriate, because it describes what they are trying to do after the quarrel: they are looking for a fair compromise.
In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.
So:
- der Streit
- die Geschwister
- der Kompromiss
Even if they were in the middle of a sentence, they would still start with a capital letter. This is a fixed orthographic rule of German.
suchen is in the present tense (3rd person plural):
- sie suchen – they look for / are looking for.
In English translation, in this context you’d most naturally say:
- “After an argument, the siblings look for a fair compromise.”
or - “… the siblings try to find a fair compromise.”
German present tense can cover:
- present progressive (are looking),
- general present (usually look), and sometimes near future, depending on context. Here, present works as a general description of what they do after a quarrel.