Jede Schwester spielt gern im Garten.

Every sister likes to play in the garden.

Breakdown of Jede Schwester spielt gern im Garten.

• spielen: to play
• der Garten: the garden
• die Schwester: the sister
• gern: gladly
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• jede: every; (feminine, nominative)

Questions & Answers about Jede Schwester spielt gern im Garten.

Why is it Jede Schwester spielt and not Jede Schwester spielen?

Jede Schwester is grammatically singular, even though it talks about all the sisters taken one by one.

• jede = each / every (singular)
• Schwester = sister (singular)
• So the subject is singular → the verb must also be singular: spielt.

If you wanted a plural subject and a plural verb, you would say:

• Alle Schwestern spielen gern im Garten.
  (All sisters like playing in the garden.)

Why is it jede and not jeder or jedes?

The form of jede- depends on the gender, number, and case of the noun.

• Schwester is feminine.
• It is the subject of the sentence → nominative case.
• Nominative singular feminine of jede is jede.

Quick overview (nominative singular):

• jeder Mann (masculine) – every man
• jede Frau (feminine) – every woman
• jedes Kind (neuter) – every child

So with Schwester, you must use jede.

Why is it Jede Schwester and not Jede Schwestern?

Because jede (each/every) is always followed by a singular noun in German.

• jede Schwester = each sister / every sister (singular form)
• alle Schwestern = all sisters (plural form)

You cannot mix jede (which is singular) with a plural noun. It’s either:

• Jede Schwester spielt gern … (Each sister likes to play …)
  or
• Alle Schwestern spielen gern … (All the sisters like to play …)

What is the difference between jede Schwester and alle Schwestern?

Both talk about the whole group, but the perspective is different:

• jede Schwester – focuses on each individual one by one.
  → Each sister (individually) likes playing in the garden.

• alle Schwestern – focuses on the group as a whole.
  → All sisters (as a group) like playing in the garden.

Grammatically:

• jede Schwester = singular + singular verb (spielt)
• alle Schwestern = plural + plural verb (spielen)

Why is gern used and not mag or mögen?

German usually expresses “like doing something” with gern plus a verb:

• etwas gern tun = to like doing something

So:

• Sie spielt gern im Garten.
  = She likes playing in the garden.

Using mögen with another verb is possible but less natural in many cases:

• Sie mag es, im Garten zu spielen. (correct but more formal/longer)
• Sie mag im Garten spielen. (possible, but spielt gern is more idiomatic)

So for everyday speech, spielt gern is the standard way to say “likes to play.”

What is the difference between gern and gerne?

gern and gerne mean the same thing: with pleasure / gladly / like to.

• Ich spiele gern Tennis.
• Ich spiele gerne Tennis.

Both are correct and equally standard. gerne can sound a bit softer or a bit more common in some regions, but there is no real difference in meaning or grammar.

What is the difference between gern and gut in this kind of sentence?

• gern tells you that someone likes doing something.
• gut tells you that someone is good at doing something.

Examples:

• Sie spielt gern im Garten.
  = She enjoys playing there.

• Sie spielt gut im Garten.
  = She plays well there (she’s good at some game she plays there).

You can also combine them:

• Sie spielt gern und gut im Garten.
  = She enjoys it and is good at it.

Why is gern placed after spielt and before im Garten?

German main clauses usually follow this rough order:

1. Subject
2. Conjugated verb (V2 position)
3. Other elements (time, manner, place, etc.)

In this sentence:

1. Jede Schwester (subject)
2. spielt (verb)
3. gern (manner – how she plays)
4. im Garten (place – where she plays)

So: Jede Schwester spielt gern im Garten.

You can move the place phrase to the front for emphasis:

• Im Garten spielt jede Schwester gern.

But the conjugated verb (spielt) must stay in second position in main clauses.

Could you put gern at the end, like Jede Schwester spielt im Garten gern?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

• Jede Schwester spielt im Garten gern.

German allows some flexibility in the order of adverbials (gern, im Garten, time expressions, etc.). The most neutral/typical order in many contexts is:

• Verb – gern – place
  → spielt gern im Garten

But changing the order is possible and can sound natural, especially in speech, depending on rhythm and emphasis.

What exactly does im mean in im Garten?

im is a contraction of in dem:

• in = in
• dem = the (dative, masculine/neuter singular)

So:

• im Garten = in dem Garten = in the garden

Spoken and written German almost always uses the contraction im here, not the full in dem (unless you want very strong emphasis).

Why is Garten in the dative case (with im / in dem) and not accusative (in den Garten)?

The preposition in can take either dative or accusative:

• dative = location (where?)
• accusative = direction/motion (where to?)

In your sentence, the sisters are already in the garden:

• Sie spielt im Garten.
  → Where does she play? In the garden. → dative

If you describe movement into the garden, you would use accusative:

• Sie geht in den Garten.
  → Where is she going (to)? Into the garden. → accusative

Why is Garten capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence.

• Garten is a noun, so it must start with a capital letter.
• This is standard German spelling and not optional.

So you write:

• im Garten, der Garten, ein Garten, etc.

Why is it dem Garten inside im, and not der Garten or den Garten?

Garten is a masculine noun:

• Nominative singular: der Garten
• Accusative singular: den Garten
• Dative singular: dem Garten

With in + location you need the dative:

• in dem Garten → im Garten

So:

• der Garten – subject (Der Garten ist groß.)
• den Garten – accusative (Sie betritt den Garten. – She enters the garden.)
• dem Garten – dative (Sie spielt in dem Garten. – She plays in the garden.)

Which case is Schwester in, and how do we know?

Schwester is in the nominative case.

Reasons:

• It is the subject of the sentence (the one doing the action).
• The verb form spielt agrees with it.

Feminine nouns in the singular usually look the same in nominative and accusative:

• Nominative: die Schwester
• Accusative: die Schwester

Here, the role in the sentence decides: as the doer of the action, Schwester is nominative.

Can spielen here also mean playing an instrument or a sport, like in English?

Yes. spielen is used similarly to English to play, for:

• children’s play:
  Die Kinder spielen im Garten. – The children play in the garden.
• games/sports:
  Sie spielt Fußball. – She plays soccer.
• musical instruments:
  Er spielt Klavier. – He plays the piano.
• roles, acting:
  Sie spielt eine Rolle im Theater. – She plays a role in the theatre.

In Jede Schwester spielt gern im Garten, the context suggests children’s play (unless another context says otherwise).