Breakdown of Die Teamleiterin leitet das Seminar.
Questions & Answers about Die Teamleiterin leitet das Seminar.
The ending -in is the regular marker for a female person in many German job titles and roles.
- Teamleiter = team leader (male, or grammatically masculine / generic)
- Teamleiterin = female team leader
So Teamleiterin tells you the team leader is a woman.
Grammar-wise, Teamleiterin is a feminine noun, which affects the article (die, eine, etc.) and adjective endings.
Because Teamleiterin is grammatically feminine, and in the nominative singular (the subject form), the definite article for feminine nouns is die.
Very short overview for singular nouns:
- der = masculine nominative (e.g. der Lehrer)
- die = feminine nominative (e.g. die Lehrerin)
- das = neuter nominative (e.g. das Kind)
So as the subject, Teamleiterin must take die:
Die Teamleiterin leitet …
- die Teamleiterin is in the nominative case: it’s the subject (the one doing the action).
- das Seminar is in the accusative case: it’s the direct object (the thing being led).
Pattern:
- Wer? / Was? (who/what is doing it?) → die Teamleiterin → nominative
- Wen? / Was? (whom/what is affected?) → das Seminar → accusative
Because Seminar is neuter, nominative and accusative both use das, so the form doesn’t change, but the function in the sentence does.
You combine meaning and grammar:
By meaning:
The person (team leader) does the action; the seminar is what she leads. So the person is the subject.By form:
- die Teamleiterin: feminine nominative article → typical subject form
- das Seminar: neuter article that could be nominative or accusative; here, by meaning and position after the verb, it’s the object.
If you swap them and keep the same verb form:
- Das Seminar leitet die Teamleiterin.
Grammatically still possible, but now das Seminar is the subject (by position + case) and die Teamleiterin is in the accusative (form looks the same for feminine, but the meaning gets strange: “The seminar leads the team leader”).
Seminar is a neuter noun, so its definite article in the singular nominative/accusative is das.
Unfortunately, for many nouns (especially foreign or abstract words) you simply have to learn the gender with the word:
- das Seminar (neuter)
- der Kurs (masculine)
- die Veranstaltung (feminine)
Dictionaries always list nouns with their gender, e.g. das Seminar, -e.
The infinitive is leiten (“to lead, to manage, to conduct”).
Present tense conjugation:
- ich leite
- du leitest
- er / sie / es leitet
- wir leiten
- ihr leitet
- sie / Sie leiten
In the sentence, the subject is die Teamleiterin (= sie, “she”), so you use sie leitet → Die Teamleiterin leitet …
German Präsens (present tense) covers all of these English forms, depending on context:
- simple present: “She leads the seminar (regularly).”
- present progressive: “She is leading the seminar (right now).”
- near future: “She will lead the seminar (tomorrow).”
So Die Teamleiterin leitet das Seminar. can correspond to any of those; the exact English translation depends on the situation and any time expressions around it (today, every Monday, next week, etc.).
In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.
So:
- die Teamleiterin
- das Seminar
- der Kurs
- die Stadt
- das Auto
Even in the middle of a sentence, any noun gets a capital letter. This is a standard rule, not an exception.
Das Seminar leitet die Teamleiterin.
Grammatically correct, because German allows flexible word order, but it has a different emphasis (you’re focusing on das Seminar: “As for the seminar, it is led by the team leader”).
Without context, it can sound odd or stylistically marked.Die Teamleiterin das Seminar leitet.
This is not a correct main clause, because in German the finite verb must be in second position in a normal statement.
You need:- Die Teamleiterin leitet das Seminar. (Subject – Verb – Object)
- or Das Seminar leitet die Teamleiterin. (Object – Verb – Subject)
So: verb in second position is the key rule for main clauses.
In standard German, for a full sentence like this, you normally do not drop the articles.
Teamleiterin leitet Seminar sounds very telegraphic or note-like (e.g. in a schedule or headline).
In normal spoken or written sentences you would say:
- Die Teamleiterin leitet das Seminar.
- or with indefinites: Eine Teamleiterin leitet ein Seminar.
Articles are much more obligatory in German than in English.
Plurals:
- die Teamleiterin → die Teamleiterinnen
- das Seminar → die Seminare
Example plural sentences:
Die Teamleiterinnen leiten das Seminar.
“The (female) team leaders lead the seminar.” (many leaders, one seminar)Die Teamleiterin leitet die Seminare.
“The (female) team leader leads the seminars.” (one leader, several seminars)Die Teamleiterinnen leiten die Seminare.
“The (female) team leaders lead the seminars.” (many leaders, many seminars)
Note that die is used for all plural nouns, regardless of gender.
Key points:
- ei in German is pronounced like English “eye”:
- Teamleiterin → roughly “Tehm-lie-ter-in”
- leitet → roughly “lie-tet”
- The r in Teamleiterin is often quite soft, especially in many accents.
- All e’s are clearly pronounced (not swallowed as in some English endings).
So you get something like:
[teːm-ˈlaɪ-tə-ʁɪn] [ˈlaɪ-tət]
In practice there is overlap, but typically:
- das Seminar:
Often used for university classes or professional trainings that are more interactive, discussion-based, or specialized. - der Kurs:
A course more generally (language course, swimming course, etc.), not necessarily at a university. - der Unterricht:
More like lessons, teaching, especially in school.
In many contexts, Seminar implies a somewhat formal, organized event with a defined topic and time frame, which fits well with this sentence.