Word
Die Kinder rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof.
Meaning
The children are all shouting at the same time in the schoolyard.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Die Kinder rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof.
das Kind
the child
im
in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
der Pausenhof
the schoolyard
durcheinander rufen
to shout all over the place
Questions & Answers about Die Kinder rufen durcheinander im Pausenhof.
Why is it die Kinder and not den Kindern in this sentence?
Die Kinder is in the nominative plural, because it is the subject of the sentence (the ones doing the calling).
- die Kinder = nominative plural (subject)
- den Kindern = dative plural (usually an indirect object: “to/for the children”)
Here we are not saying “to the children” but “the children (are) calling”, so nominative is required: Die Kinder rufen …
Why is the verb rufen and not ruft?
The verb must agree with the subject Kinder:
- ich rufe
- du rufst
- er/sie/es ruft
- wir rufen
- ihr ruft
- sie / Sie rufen
Die Kinder = sie (3rd person plural), so you need the plural form: rufen.
Die Kinder ruft would be grammatically wrong.
What is the difference between rufen and schreien here?