Questions & Answers about Ich sehe eine Katze im Garten.
Why is it eine Katze and not ein Katze?
Because Katze is grammatically feminine in German (it uses die in the dictionary form: die Katze).
For a feminine noun in the accusative case (direct object of the verb), the indefinite article is eine, not ein.
- Nominative (subject): eine Katze (A cat is sleeping. – Eine Katze schläft.)
- Accusative (direct object): Ich sehe eine Katze.
Ein is used for masculine or neuter nouns (e.g. ein Hund, ein Haus) in nominative/accusative, but Katze is feminine, so it needs eine here.
Why is Katze capitalized?
In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of where they appear in the sentence.
So Katze (a noun) and Garten (also a noun) must start with a capital letter.
Verbs (sehe), adjectives, and other parts of speech are not capitalized, unless they’re at the beginning of a sentence or part of a proper name.
What case are eine Katze and im Garten, and why?