Breakdown of Diese Angewohnheit ist schlecht für meine Gesundheit.
Questions & Answers about Diese Angewohnheit ist schlecht für meine Gesundheit.
Diese is the demonstrative pronoun/adjective “this/that” and it has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- Angewohnheit is:
- gender: feminine
- number: singular
- case: nominative (it’s the subject of the sentence)
The nominative singular feminine form of dies- is diese.
Other forms (for comparison):
- dieser = masculine nominative singular (e.g. dieser Mann)
- dieses = neuter nominative singular (e.g. dieses Kind), or genitive masculine/neuter
So with Angewohnheit you must say diese Angewohnheit in this sentence.
Angewohnheit is:
- gender: feminine
- case: nominative
- number: singular
How to see this:
- It’s the subject of the sentence (the thing that “is bad”), so it is in the nominative case.
- The form diese (not dieser/dieses) shows that the noun it refers to is feminine nominative singular.
- In dictionaries, Angewohnheit is listed as die Angewohnheit – that die is the nominative singular article for feminine nouns.
So the phrase diese Angewohnheit is a feminine nominative singular subject.
Both relate to habits, but there is a nuance:
- Gewohnheit = habit in general; can be neutral or even positive.
- e.g. eine gute Gewohnheit – a good habit
- Angewohnheit often has a slightly negative or at least casual flavor, like a (little) habit, a quirk, a bad habit.
- It is frequently used when talking about annoying or unhealthy habits.
In this sentence, Diese Angewohnheit ist schlecht für meine Gesundheit, the speaker is clearly talking about a problematic habit, so Angewohnheit fits nicely. You could also say:
- Diese Gewohnheit ist schlecht für meine Gesundheit.
This is grammatically correct, but a bit more neutral; context would still make it “bad habit.”
In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.
- Gesundheit is a noun meaning “health”, so it is written with a capital G: Gesundheit.
- Adjectives and verbs are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of the sentence or being used as nouns (e.g. das Gute).
So the capitalization is simply following the basic rule: nouns get capitals.
The preposition für always takes the accusative case.
- Gesundheit is feminine singular.
- The possessive mein- in the accusative feminine singular is meine.
So:
- für meine Gesundheit = correct (accusative feminine)
- für meiner Gesundheit would be dative feminine, but für does not use dative.
A mini-table for mein- (singular, feminine):
- Nominative: meine Gesundheit
- Accusative: meine Gesundheit
- Dative: meiner Gesundheit
- Genitive: meiner Gesundheit
Because of für, you must use the accusative → meine Gesundheit.
Yes, you can say:
- Diese Angewohnheit ist ungesund.
This is shorter and very natural. The nuance:
- schlecht für meine Gesundheit literally says “bad for my health”.
- ungesund means “unhealthy”.
Both express a similar idea, but schlecht für meine Gesundheit:
- is a bit more explicit about the effect on your health,
- slightly more emphatic or descriptive.
So both are correct; choice depends mostly on style.
Yes, you can also say:
- Diese Angewohnheit ist schlecht für die Gesundheit.
Differences:
- für meine Gesundheit = specifically my health; more personal.
- für die Gesundheit = for (one’s) health in general, more general statement.
Both versions are natural; which you choose depends on whether you want to stress your own health or health in general.
Grammatically, schlecht here is a predicate adjective:
- It describes the subject diese Angewohnheit through the verb ist.
- Pattern: [subject] + sein (ist) + adjective
- e.g. Die Suppe ist heiß. – The soup is hot.
- Diese Angewohnheit ist schlecht. – This habit is bad.
Because we add für meine Gesundheit after it, schlecht is still mainly describing the habit, but with a specific reference: it is bad (in relation to my health).
Yes, this is also correct:
- Diese Angewohnheit ist für meine Gesundheit schlecht.
Both versions are fine:
- … ist schlecht für meine Gesundheit. (more common, very natural)
- … ist für meine Gesundheit schlecht. (slightly more emphasis on für meine Gesundheit)
In German, adverbial phrases like für meine Gesundheit and predicate adjectives like schlecht can sometimes swap places without changing the basic meaning; the difference is mainly in emphasis and rhythm.
Approximate pronunciation (IPA and tips):
Angewohnheit – [ˈanɡəˌvoːnhaɪt]
- An – like “un-” in “under”
- ge – a short “geh” /gə/
- wohn – woːn, w like English v, o long (like “oh”)
- heit – like English “height”
Gesundheit – [ɡəˈzʊnthaɪt]
- Ge – /gə/
- sund – zund (German s before a vowel often sounds like English z)
- heit – again like “height”
- The d in Gesundheit is often softened, but you can clearly say [d] as a learner.
For schlecht:
- sch = like English sh in “ship”
- ch after e = soft ch, similar to the hissy part of “h” in “huge” but further back in the mouth: [ç]
- So schlecht = [ʃlɛçt].
Ist is the 3rd person singular of “sein” (to be) and is used to describe a state or quality:
- Diese Angewohnheit ist schlecht = This habit *is bad.*
You could rephrase the idea other ways:
- Diese Angewohnheit wird meiner Gesundheit schaden. – This habit will harm my health.
- Diese Angewohnheit macht meine Gesundheit schlechter. – This habit makes my health worse.
But the original sentence just describes the habit’s quality (it is bad), rather than talking about a process (will harm, makes worse), so ist is the simplest and most natural choice.
For plural “these habits”, the forms must agree in plural:
- Diese Angewohnheiten sind schlecht für meine Gesundheit.
Changes:
- Angewohnheit → Angewohnheiten (plural)
- diese → stays diese (same form for nominative plural all genders)
- ist → sind (3rd person singular → 3rd person plural)
So the full plural version is:
- Diese Angewohnheiten sind schlecht für meine Gesundheit.