Breakdown of Die Fans finden das Foul unfair.
Questions & Answers about Die Fans finden das Foul unfair.
German often uses the pattern:
jemand findet etwas + Adjektiv
= someone finds/considers something + adjective
So:
- Die Fans finden das Foul unfair.
literally: The fans find the foul unfair.
meaning: They think/consider the foul to be unfair.
You can also say:
- Die Fans finden, dass das Foul unfair ist.
Both are correct and mean the same, but the shorter version with etwas + Adjektiv is very common and more direct.
In English, to find usually means to discover something.
In this sentence, German finden has a different, very common meaning:
- finden = to think, to consider, to have an opinion about something
Examples:
- Ich finde den Film gut. – I think the film is good.
- Wir finden deine Idee interessant. – We think your idea is interesting.
So in Die Fans finden das Foul unfair, finden means they judge or evaluate the foul as unfair, not that they are physically finding it.
German main clauses normally follow this basic pattern:
Subject – verb – (other stuff) – “big” information at the end
In this sentence:
- Die Fans = subject
- finden = verb (2nd position)
- das Foul = object
- unfair = predicative adjective (what they think about the object)
So the structure is:
[Subject] Die Fans – [Verb] finden – [Object] das Foul – [Adjective] unfair
German likes to put the descriptive part (unfair) after the object, at the end.
You cannot move unfair in front of das Foul in this structure.
✗ Die Fans finden unfair das Foul. is wrong.
Adjectives in German only get endings when they directly stand in front of a noun:
- ein unfaires Foul – an unfair foul
- dieses unfaire Foul – this unfair foul
Here, unfair does not stand before a noun. It describes the object das Foul after the verb finden, so it is a predicate adjective. Predicate adjectives in German usually do not take endings:
- Das Foul ist unfair. – The foul is unfair.
- Die Fans finden das Foul unfair. – The fans find the foul unfair.
So no ending on unfair is exactly right in this position.
- Die Fans is the subject in the nominative plural.
- das Foul is the direct object in the accusative singular.
How to see that:
Verb agreement
- finden is in the 3rd person plural form. That matches die Fans (they).
- So die Fans must be the subject.
Articles and case
- Nominative plural article: die (for all genders/plural) → die Fans
- Accusative neuter article: das → das Foul
For neuter nouns, nominative and accusative are both das, so you can’t see the case just from das. But with verb agreement and meaning, it’s clear:
- The ones having the opinion (the fans) = subject.
- The thing they judge (the foul) = object.
Only masculine nouns change their article from der to den in the accusative.
- masculine: der Ball → den Ball (accusative)
- feminine: die Mannschaft → die Mannschaft (accusative)
- neuter: das Foul → das Foul (accusative)
- plural: die Fans → die Fans (accusative)
Foul is a neuter noun in German, so:
- nominative: das Foul
- accusative: das Foul
That’s why you see das Foul as the object, not den Foul.
In the present tense, finden behaves like a regular verb (no vowel change):
- ich finde
- du findest
- er/sie/es findet
- wir finden
- ihr findet
- sie/Sie finden
In the simple past and past participle, it is a strong (irregular) verb:
- simple past: ich fand (not findete)
- past participle: gefunden (not gefindet)
So overall, finden is considered an irregular/strong verb, but its present tense looks regular.
Foul is a loanword from English, used mainly in sports:
- ein Foul – a foul (illegal move)
- ein Foul begehen – to commit a foul
- nach dem Foul – after the foul
Its grammatical details:
- gender: das Foul (neuter)
- plural: die Fouls
So it looks and means almost the same as in English, but takes German articles and plural endings.
Yes, you can move elements around in German as long as:
- The conjugated verb stays in 2nd position, and
- The meaning remains clear from context and case.
These are all correct and mean the same:
- Die Fans finden das Foul unfair. (neutral order)
- Das Foul finden die Fans unfair. (emphasis on das Foul)
- Unfair finden die Fans das Foul. (strong emphasis on unfair)
What you cannot do is split the object and adjective in the wrong way or move the verb from 2nd position, e.g.:
- ✗ Die Fans das Foul unfair finden. (wrong in a main clause)
- ✗ Die Fans finden unfair das Foul. (unusual/wrong in this structure)
Both can often be translated as unfair, but there is a nuance:
unfair
- everyday, informal word
- very close to English unfair
- often used for behaviour, decisions, treatment in sports, games, personal situations
ungerecht
- closer to unjust or not right / not in accordance with justice
- can sound a bit more serious or moral
In your sentence about a sports foul, unfair is the most natural choice:
- Die Fans finden das Foul unfair.
You could say ungerecht, but it would sound more like the fans think it is morally wrong or unjust, not just unsporting.
In German, all nouns are capitalized, not just proper names.
- Fans – a common noun (people who support a team) → capitalized
- Foul – a common noun (an action in a game) → capitalized
Verbs (finden), adjectives (unfair), and most other words are written with a lowercase initial letter, unless they start the sentence or are proper names.