Learn Hardcore German: Meine Schwester findet den Zoo interessant, aber sie spendet lieber für das Tierheim. - My sister finds the zoo interesting, but she prefers to donate to the animal shelter.

Nominative: der Zoo ist interessant. – The zoo is interesting.
Accusative: Meine Schwester findet den Zoo interessant. – My sister finds the zoo interesting.

Why do we say findet den Zoo interessant instead of ist den Zoo interessant?

German uses finden + Akkusativ + Adjektiv to express an opinion about something:

etwas interessant / langweilig / schön finden
- Ich finde den Zoo interessant. – I think the zoo is interesting.
- Sie findet den Film langweilig. – She thinks the film is boring.

You cannot say ist den Zoo interessant because:

sein (ist) doesn’t take an accusative object like that.
The structure with sein would be:
- Der Zoo ist interessant. (subject + verb + adjective)

So:

Der Zoo ist interessant. – factual description.
Meine Schwester findet den Zoo interessant. – her personal opinion.

What exactly does findet mean here? Is it physical “find” or “think”?

Here finden means “to consider / to think (something is …)”, not “to find” in the sense of physically discovering something.

Compare:

Physical: Ich finde meinen Schlüssel nicht. – I can’t find my key.
Opinion: Ich finde den Zoo interessant. – I think the zoo is interesting.

This opinion-meaning of finden is very common and quite informal/natural in spoken German.

Why is there a comma before aber?

In German, aber is a coordinating conjunction like “but” in English.

When it joins two main clauses, you put a comma before aber:
- Meine Schwester findet den Zoo interessant, aber sie spendet lieber …

After aber, the word order is the normal main-clause word order:

aber sie spendet … (conjugated verb in 2nd position).

So:

Comma before aber ✔
No comma after aber ✖

Why is it aber and not sondern?

aber and sondern both often translate as “but”, but they’re used differently:

aber = but / however (simple contrast, no negation needed)
- Sie mag den Zoo, aber sie spendet lieber für das Tierheim.
sondern = but rather / but instead (must follow a negation in the first part)
- Sie spendet nicht für den Zoo, sondern für das Tierheim.
  – She doesn’t donate to the zoo, but rather to the animal shelter.

In the original sentence there is no negation, so you need aber, not sondern.

What does lieber mean here, and how is it different from gern?

gern means “gladly / with pleasure / like doing”.
lieber is the comparative of gern and means “rather / prefer to”.

Sie spendet gern für Tiere.
– She likes donating for animals.
Sie spendet lieber für das Tierheim.
– She prefers to donate to the animal shelter.

English often uses “would rather” / “prefers to” where German uses lieber.

There’s also a superlative: am liebsten = “most of all”:

Sie spendet am liebsten für das Tierheim.
– Most of all, she likes donating to the animal shelter.

Why is lieber placed after spendet and before für das Tierheim?

lieber is an adverb modifying the verb spendet. In main clauses, such adverbs usually appear early in the “middle field,” often right after the conjugated verb:

sie spendet lieber für das Tierheim
(subject – verb – adverb – other information)

Other possible, still natural orders:

Sie spendet für das Tierheim lieber. (less typical, but possible for emphasis)

But these are not natural:

✖ Sie lieber spendet für das Tierheim.
✖ Sie spendet für das lieber Tierheim.

So [subject] – [conjugated verb] – [modal adverb like lieber] – [rest] is the normal pattern.

Could I say Sie würde lieber für das Tierheim spenden instead of sie spendet lieber für das Tierheim?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly.

Sie spendet lieber für das Tierheim.
– Present tense, general preference or habit: She prefers to donate to the animal shelter (in general).
Sie würde lieber für das Tierheim spenden.
– Conditional: She would rather donate to the animal shelter (in this situation / hypothetically).

Both are correct; the original is a simple statement of her usual preference.

Why is it für das Tierheim and not für dem Tierheim?

The preposition für always takes the accusative case.

Tierheim is neuter:

Nominative: das Tierheim
Accusative: das Tierheim (same form)

So with für you must say:

für das Tierheim ✔

dem Tierheim would be dative; für never uses dative, so für dem Tierheim is grammatically wrong.

What exactly is a Tierheim, and how is this word built?

A Tierheim is an animal shelter – a place where homeless or rescued animals are kept and cared for until they (hopefully) find a new home.

It’s a compound noun:

Tier = animal
Heim = home

So literally: “animal home” → animal shelter.

It is neuter: das Tierheim, ein Tierheim.

Why is it spendet für and not something like gibt an?

spenden is the standard verb for donating (usually money, sometimes goods) to a cause.

für + Akkusativ expresses for which cause/purpose you donate.

Examples:

Wir spenden Geld für das Tierheim. – We donate money to/for the animal shelter.
Er spendet für wohltätige Zwecke. – He donates to charitable causes.

You can say Geld an das Tierheim geben, but that’s more neutral “give money to the shelter,” not specifically “donate” in the charitable sense. spenden automatically implies donation/charity.

Why is the verb in 2nd position in both clauses: Meine Schwester findet …, sie spendet …?

German main clauses follow the Verb-second (V2) rule:

The conjugated verb must be in 2nd position in the clause.
“Position” means slot, not “word count” (a long phrase still counts as one slot).

In the first clause:

Meine Schwester (slot 1, subject)
findet (slot 2, conjugated verb)
den Zoo interessant (rest)

In the second clause (after aber):

sie (slot 1, subject)
spendet (slot 2, conjugated verb)
lieber für das Tierheim (rest)

This V2 pattern is one of the most important features of German main-clause word order.

Could I omit sie in the second clause and just say …, aber spendet lieber für das Tierheim?

No, you cannot drop the subject pronoun sie in standard German.

German is not a “pro-drop” language like Spanish or Italian. You normally must repeat the subject in the new clause:

…, aber sie spendet lieber … ✔
…, aber spendet lieber … ✖ (incorrect in standard German)

Only in very informal, spoken lists of verbs with the same subject might a pronoun be left out, but not in a normal sentence like this.

Could the sentence also be Meine Schwester findet den Zoo interessant, aber für das Tierheim spendet sie lieber?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct and can sound quite natural.

Meine Schwester findet den Zoo interessant, aber für das Tierheim spendet sie lieber.

Here you move für das Tierheim to the first slot of the second clause. Because German keeps the verb in 2nd position, the order becomes:

für das Tierheim
spendet
sie lieber

This version puts extra emphasis on für das Tierheim (on the cause she prefers to support). Both sentences mean essentially the same thing.