Breakdown of Fünf Kinder spielen im Garten.
das Kind
the child
spielen
to play
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
Questions & Answers about Fünf Kinder spielen im Garten.
Why is there no article before Kinder? In English we say Five children are playing..., but we often need the or some.
In German, when you use a number directly before a plural noun, you normally do not use an article:
- Fünf Kinder spielen im Garten. – Five children are playing in the garden.
- Drei Männer warten draußen. – Three men are waiting outside.
An article would only be added if you want to be more specific in a special way, for example:
- Die fünf Kinder spielen im Garten. – The five children (a specific, known group) are playing in the garden.
So the basic, neutral version with just a number uses no article before the plural noun.
Why is the verb spielen and not spielt?
The subject is Fünf Kinder. The core noun is Kinder, which is plural (children).
German present tense verb endings:
- ich spiele – I play
- du spielst – you (singular, informal) play
- er/sie/es spielt – he/she/it plays
- wir spielen – we play
- ihr spielt – you (plural, informal) play
- sie spielen – they play
Kinder = they, so you need the 3rd person plural form: spielen.
If it were only one child:
- Ein Kind spielt im Garten. – One child is playing in the garden.