Breakdown of Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
Questions & Answers about Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
The ending -in marks the female form of many professions and roles in German.
- Schüler = (male) pupil / student at school
- Schülerin = (female) pupil / student at school
- Lehrer = (male) teacher
- Lehrerin = (female) teacher
So Die Schülerin means the (female) pupil, and die Lehrerin means the (female) teacher.
Yes, they have different grammatical roles, but they are both feminine singular nouns.
- In the nominative case (subject), feminine singular uses die:
- die Schülerin (subject)
- In the accusative case (direct object), feminine singular also uses die:
- die Lehrerin (direct object)
So the article die looks the same in nominative and accusative for feminine singular nouns. You know which is which mainly from word order and meaning:
- Die Schülerin (first position, before the verb) = subject
- die Lehrerin (after the verb) = direct object
Sentence: Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
- Die Schülerin = subject (who is doing the asking)
- die Lehrerin = direct object (who is being asked)
- nach Hilfe = prepositional phrase (what she is asking about)
How to tell:
- Typical main-clause order is Subject – Verb – (Objects / Other parts).
- Subject comes before the verb: Die Schülerin fragt …
- Meaning: it’s more logical that the pupil asks the teacher, not the other way around.
Even though both have die, the structure and meaning tell you which is which.
fragen is the infinitive (to ask). German conjugates verbs according to the subject.
For fragen in the present tense:
- ich frage
- du fragst
- er / sie / es fragt
- wir fragen
- ihr fragt
- sie / Sie fragen
The subject here is die Schülerin, which is third person singular (sie).
So the correct form is sie fragt → Die Schülerin fragt …
German uses a specific pattern:
- jemanden nach etwas fragen
- ask someone about / for something
In this sentence:
- die Schülerin = the one who asks (subject)
- die Lehrerin = the person she asks (accusative)
- nach Hilfe = what she asks for
So you get: Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
This corresponds to English “The pupil asks the teacher for help.”
Important:
- fragen nach = ask about / for (information, help, the way, etc.)
- Er fragt nach dem Weg. – He asks for directions.
If you want to say “ask someone for something” in the sense of “request,” you often use bitten um instead (see another question below).
No. fragt für Hilfe is not idiomatic German.
To express “ask for help”, you normally say:
- nach Hilfe fragen (as in this sentence), or
- um Hilfe bitten (see below)
So natural options are:
- Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
- Die Schülerin bittet die Lehrerin um Hilfe.
Using für with fragen here is a direct translation from English and sounds wrong to native speakers.
Hilfe is a feminine noun (die Hilfe), but in this context it’s used as an uncountable / abstract noun, like help in English.
In German, many abstract or “mass” nouns are used without an article when talking about them in a general way:
- Hilfe brauchen – to need help
- um Hilfe bitten – to ask for help
- nach Hilfe fragen – to ask for help
You would only add an article if you want to specify a particular help:
- nach der Hilfe fragen, die sie gestern versprochen hat
– ask about the help that she promised yesterday
In this simple sentence, it’s general help, so no article: nach Hilfe.
In German, all nouns are capitalised, no matter where they appear in the sentence.
- die Schülerin – noun (pupil)
- die Lehrerin – noun (teacher)
- Hilfe – noun (help)
Verbs, adjectives, and most other word types are not capitalised (except at the start of a sentence or in special cases). So the capital letters here are simply because they’re nouns.
That particular version (… fragt nach Hilfe die Lehrerin) sounds wrong/unnatural.
However, some changes are possible, especially for emphasis:
- Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe. (neutral, most natural)
- Nach Hilfe fragt die Schülerin die Lehrerin. (emphasis on “for help”)
- Die Lehrerin fragt die Schülerin nach Hilfe. (now the teacher is asking the pupil)
General rules:
- In a main clause, the finite verb (here: fragt) must be in second position.
- The subject doesn’t always have to be first, but it usually is in neutral sentences.
- Splitting die Lehrerin from fragt in the way you suggested is not idiomatic in this short sentence.
Normally, no. That sounds incomplete or very telegraphic, like a note in a diary or a headline.
In standard spoken and written German, singular countable nouns usually need an article (definite, indefinite, or another determiner):
- Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
- Eine Schülerin fragt eine Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
- Diese Schülerin fragt ihre Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
Leaving out the articles with singular nouns is not standard in full sentences.
Both can often be translated as “to ask for help”, but there is a nuance:
nach Hilfe fragen
- literally: “to ask about help / to inquire about help”
- focuses more on asking a question or making an inquiry
um Hilfe bitten
- literally: “to request help”
- focuses more on politely requesting that someone actually helps you
In many everyday contexts they can be used interchangeably, but:
- Die Schülerin fragt die Lehrerin nach Hilfe.
– She asks the teacher for help (could be: “Can you help me with this?”) - Die Schülerin bittet die Lehrerin um Hilfe.
– She requests the teacher’s help (sounds a bit more like a formal or polite request).
Grammatically, note the patterns:
- jemanden nach etwas fragen
- jemanden um etwas bitten