Learn Hardcore German: Ich finde die Stadt schön.

Stadt has grammatical gender feminine in German.
The correct definite article for a feminine noun in the nominative and accusative singular is die.

So we get:

die Stadt = the city (feminine)

The forms for Stadt with the definite article are:

Nominative: die Stadt
Accusative: die Stadt
Dative: der Stadt
Genitive: der Stadt

You cannot say das Stadt (wrong gender) and der Stadt is only for dative/genitive, not for the role it has in this sentence.

Is die Stadt nominative or accusative in this sentence? How can I tell?

In Ich finde die Stadt schön.:

Ich is the subject → nominative.
die Stadt is the direct object of finden → accusative.

So die Stadt is accusative here.

How can you tell?

Finden is a verb that normally takes a direct object:
- Ich finde [etwas]. – I find [something].
  The “something” is accusative.
Word order in German is more flexible, so you cannot rely only on position. You look at the verb’s pattern:
- subject (nominative) + finden
  - direct object (accusative) + adjective.

Because Stadt is feminine, nominative and accusative both use die, so the form die doesn’t help; the verb pattern does.

Why is schön at the end of the sentence?

German main clauses usually follow this rough pattern:

Subject – finite verb – (other elements) – “rest” – final elements

In a structure like this one:

Ich (subject)
finde (finite verb, 2nd position)
die Stadt (object)
schön (predicative adjective, goes to the end)

So:

Ich finde die Stadt schön.

Predicate adjectives (adjectives that describe the condition of a noun via a verb like sein, finden, machen, etc.) typically go towards the end of the clause in German.

Compare:

Ich finde den Film langweilig.
Wir finden das Wetter heute schlecht.

Why is it schön and not schöne here?

German adjectives behave differently depending on their function:

Attributive adjective (comes directly before a noun):
It usually takes an ending:
- eine schöne Stadt – a beautiful city
- die schöne Stadt – the beautiful city
Predicative adjective (comes after a verb, describing the subject or object):
It does not take an ending:
- Die Stadt ist schön. – The city is beautiful.
- Ich finde die Stadt schön. – I think the city is beautiful.

In Ich finde die Stadt schön., schön is predicative; it describes how you find the city. Therefore, it appears in its basic form, without an ending.

What is the difference between Ich finde die Stadt schön. and Die Stadt ist schön.?

Both ultimately say the city is beautiful, but the nuance is different:

Die Stadt ist schön.
- A more neutral statement of fact.
- Sounds like a general description: “The city is beautiful (as a fact).”
Ich finde die Stadt schön.
- Explicitly marks this as your personal opinion.
- Emphasizes that this is how you see it: “I think the city is beautiful.”

In English, the difference is a bit like:

“The city is beautiful.” (factual/general)
“I think the city is beautiful.” (subjective/personal opinion)

Can I also say Ich finde, die Stadt ist schön.? Is that different?

Yes, you can say:

Ich finde, die Stadt ist schön.

Grammatically, the difference is:

Ich finde die Stadt schön.
- die Stadt is the direct object.
- schön is a predicative adjective complementing die Stadt.
Ich finde, die Stadt ist schön.
- The comma introduces a clause: die Stadt ist schön.
- The entire clause functions like the “object” of finden.
- It’s similar to English: “I think (that) the city is beautiful.”

In everyday language, the meaning is almost the same.
Ich finde die Stadt schön. is a bit shorter and very common;
Ich finde, die Stadt ist schön. can sound slightly more reflective or emphatic, like you’re introducing your opinion more explicitly.

Can I drop Ich and just say Finde die Stadt schön like in Spanish?

In standard German, you cannot normally drop the subject pronoun like that. You should say:

Ich finde die Stadt schön.

German is not a “null-subject” language like Spanish or Italian. The personal pronoun is usually required.

You can omit Ich only in certain contexts:

Finde die Stadt schön! – as an imperative (this is odd in meaning: “Find the city beautiful!”).
In some very informal notes or messages, people might omit pronouns, but that’s not standard and not good to learn as a beginner.

So for normal correct German, keep the Ich.

How would I say this in the past tense?

Two common options:

Preterite (simple past):
- Ich fand die Stadt schön. – I found the city beautiful / I thought the city was beautiful.
  This is common in writing; in spoken German it may sound a bit more formal or narrative, depending on the region.
Perfect (conversational past):
- Ich habe die Stadt schön gefunden. – Literally “I have found the city beautiful.”
  In everyday spoken German, the Perfekt is more common to talk about past events.

Both are correct; in ordinary conversation you’ll mostly hear Ich fand die Stadt schön. or Ich habe die Stadt schön gefunden. depending on region and style.

Where would I put sehr if I want to say “I find the city very beautiful”?

In German, intensifiers like sehr come before the adjective:

Ich finde die Stadt sehr schön. – I find the city very beautiful.

Other examples:

Ich finde die Stadt wirklich schön. – really beautiful
Ich finde die Stadt ziemlich schön. – quite beautiful
Ich finde die Stadt nicht besonders schön. – not particularly beautiful

Can I use mögen or gefallen instead of finden? What’s the difference?

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly.

mögen – to like:
- Ich mag die Stadt. – I like the city.
  Focus: you like it (general liking), not necessarily its beauty in particular.
gefallen – to please / to be pleasing to:
- Die Stadt gefällt mir. – I like the city. (Literally: The city pleases me.)
  Structure:
- Die Stadt = subject
- mir (dative) = to me
finden – to find/consider (opinion):
- Ich finde die Stadt schön. – I think the city is beautiful.
  Focus: your evaluation of a specific quality (beauty).

You can also combine ideas:

Die Stadt gefällt mir. Ich finde sie sehr schön.
“I like the city. I find it very beautiful.”

What happens if I replace die Stadt with a pronoun?

You’d normally say:

Ich finde sie schön. – I find it (the city) beautiful.

Here:

Ich = I (subject, nominative)
finde = find
sie = her/it (feminine, accusative, referring to die Stadt)
schön = beautiful

With pronouns, German word order can shift, especially if you have more elements, but in this simple sentence the pattern is the same:

Ich finde sie sehr schön.
Ich finde sie nicht schön.

How do I know that Stadt is feminine? It doesn’t look feminine to me.

Unfortunately, German gender is often not predictable from the word’s form. You have to learn nouns together with their article.

So you learn:

die Stadt – the city (feminine)

A good habit:

When you learn a noun, always memorize article + noun (e.g. die Stadt, der Tisch, das Haus) rather than just “Stadt, Tisch, Haus”.

Dictionaries mark gender, e.g.:

Stadt, die (f)

What basic sentence pattern does Ich finde die Stadt schön. follow?

The pattern is:

Subject (nominative) + verb + direct object (accusative) + predicative adjective

Applied:

Ich – subject (nominative)
finde – verb
die Stadt – direct object (accusative)
schön – predicative adjective describing die Stadt

This is the same structure as in English sentences like:

“I find the city beautiful.”
“We found the movie boring.”

In both languages, [someone] finds [something] [adjective].