Breakdown of Die Apothekerin lächelt freundlich in der Apotheke.
in
in
die Apotheke
the pharmacy
freundlich
kindly (in a kind manner)
lächeln
to smile
Questions & Answers about Die Apothekerin lächelt freundlich in der Apotheke.
Why is it die Apothekerin and not der Apotheker?
German has grammatical gender, and many professions have a masculine and a feminine form:
- der Apotheker = (male) pharmacist
- die Apothekerin = (female) pharmacist
The ending -in is the usual feminine ending for professions and many other roles.
Because Apothekerin is grammatically feminine, its nominative singular article is die: die Apothekerin.
What grammatical role does die Apothekerin have in this sentence?
Die Apothekerin is the subject of the sentence:
- Wer lächelt? (Who is smiling?) → Die Apothekerin.
Because it is the subject, it is in the nominative case: die Apothekerin (not der/dem/den Apothekerin).
Why is the verb form lächelt and not lächeln or lächle?
The verb is lächeln (to smile). In the present tense, it’s conjugated like this:
- ich lächle / lächele
- du lächelst
- er/sie/es lächelt
- wir lächeln
- ihr lächelt
- sie lächeln
The subject is die Apothekerin, which is sie (she), so you need the 3rd person singular form: sie lächelt → Die Apothekerin lächelt …
How is different from ?