Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografie berühmter Musiker.

My brother likes to read the biography of famous musicians.

Breakdown of Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografie berühmter Musiker.

• lesen: to read
• mein: my
• gern: gladly
• der Bruder: the brother
• der Musiker: the musician
• die Biografie: the biography
• berühmt: famous

Questions & Answers about Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografie berühmter Musiker.

What exactly does gern mean here, and how is it different from just saying liest die Biografie?

gern is an adverb that literally means gladly or with pleasure, but in everyday German it’s used to express liking to do something.

• Mein Bruder liest die Biografie.
  = My brother reads the biography. (a neutral fact; no opinion)

• Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografie.
  = My brother likes reading the biography. (it tells us he enjoys it)

So gern doesn’t change the action itself; it adds the idea that the person enjoys doing that action.

Why is gern after liest and not in another place? Could I move it?

In German, gern usually comes right after the conjugated verb when it modifies how much you like doing that verb:

• Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografie …

You can move gern a bit, but the most neutral, natural position is:

1. Subject
2. Conjugated verb
3. gern
4. Rest of the sentence

Other options are possible for emphasis, e.g.:

• Mein Bruder liest die Biografie berühmter Musiker gern.
  (still correct; a bit more emphasis on the object)

But for learners, Verb + gern + rest is the safest pattern.

Why is it Mein Bruder and not Meinen Bruder?

Mein Bruder is the subject of the sentence – the one doing the action – so it must be in the nominative case.

• Wer liest gern? (Who likes to read?) → Mein Bruder.

Meinen Bruder would be accusative (direct object), which you’d use if something is being done to him, for example:

• Ich sehe meinen Bruder. – I see my brother.

Here, Mein Bruder is doing the reading, so nominative mein is correct.

Why is it liest and not lesen or something else?

lesen is the infinitive (to read). It changes with the subject:

• ich lese
• du liest
• er/sie/es liest
• wir lesen
• ihr lest
• sie/Sie lesen

Mein Bruder = er (he), so we need the 3rd person singular:

• Mein Bruder liest …

Why is it die Biografie and not der Biografie or das Biografie?

Biografie is a feminine noun in German: die Biografie (feminine, singular). In the accusative case (as the direct object), feminine nouns keep die:

• Nominative: die Biografie (subject)
• Accusative: die Biografie (object)

In the sentence, die Biografie is the direct object (what he reads):

• Was liest er gern? – die Biografie → accusative, feminine → die.

So die Biografie is both nominative and accusative singular feminine.

The English meaning is “biographies of famous musicians”. Why is the German sentence using die Biografie (singular) instead of Biografien (plural)?

German and English don’t always match in number (singular/plural).

• die Biografie berühmter Musiker
  literally: the biography of famous musicians

Very often, though, Germans would actually say:

• Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografien berühmter Musiker.
  = My brother likes reading the biographies of famous musicians.

The version with die Biografie (singular) is grammatically correct and could be understood as “this particular biography (of several musicians)”, but in everyday usage the plural Biografien is more natural if you mean several different books.

Why is it berühmter Musiker and not something like berühmten Musikern or von berühmten Musikern?

berühmter Musiker here is a genitive plural phrase: of famous musicians. Some nouns take a genitive phrase instead of using von. Biografie is one of them:

• die Biografie berühmter Musiker
  = the biography of famous musicians

berühmter is the adjective in genitive plural with no article (so it takes the -er ending), and Musiker is also genitive plural (for many masculine nouns, nominative and genitive plural look the same without an article).

You could also say, more informally:

• … die Biografie von berühmten Musikern.

That’s also correct, but the version in the sentence is a bit more “bookish” or formal.

How do I know that berühmter Musiker is plural and not singular? The word Musiker looks the same.

Many masculine nouns like der Musiker have the same form in singular and plural without an article. You see this with:

• Nominative singular: der Musiker
• Nominative plural (no article): Musiker
• Genitive plural (no article): Musiker

In berühmter Musiker, the clues are:

1. The adjective ending -er with no article is typical for genitive plural.
2. The meaning given (“famous musicians”) tells you it’s plural.

So context + adjective ending indicate it’s plural, even though Musiker itself doesn’t change form here.

Why not just say die Biografie von berühmten Musikern? Is that wrong?

die Biografie von berühmten Musikern is absolutely correct German and is very common in speech and everyday writing.

• die Biografie berühmter Musiker
  = uses the genitive (more formal, more “written” style)

• die Biografie von berühmten Musikern
  = uses von + dative (more neutral and conversational)

Both mean the biography of famous musicians, and both would be understood the same way. The sentence you were given just chooses the genitive style.

What’s the difference between gern and gerne? Could I say Mein Bruder liest gerne …?

gern and gerne mean the same thing: to like doing something.

• Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografie …
• Mein Bruder liest gerne die Biografie …

Both are correct; gern is just a bit shorter. Many speakers use them interchangeably without any difference in meaning.

Why are all the nouns capitalized: Bruder, Biografie, Musiker?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence. That includes:

• Berufe (professions): Bruder, Musiker
• Sachen/Begriffe (things/abstract ideas): Biografie

So you always write: der Bruder, die Biografie, der Musiker with a capital letter. This is a fixed spelling rule in German.

Can I change the word order, for example: Gern liest mein Bruder die Biografie berühmter Musiker?

Yes, you can. German word order is flexible as long as the conjugated verb stays in the 2nd position in main clauses. For example:

• Mein Bruder liest gern die Biografie berühmter Musiker. (neutral)
• Gern liest mein Bruder die Biografie berühmter Musiker. (emphasis on how much he enjoys it)

Both are correct; the second version sounds a bit more stylistic or emphatic, but the meaning is the same.