Die Erdbeeren sind manchmal sauer, die Melone schmeckt dagegen fast immer süß.

to be

Breakdown of Die Erdbeeren sind manchmal sauer, die Melone schmeckt dagegen fast immer süß.

• manchmal: sometimes
• immer: always
• schmecken: to taste

Questions & Answers about Die Erdbeeren sind manchmal sauer, die Melone schmeckt dagegen fast immer süß.

Why is it die Erdbeeren and die Melone when one is plural and the other is singular?

Because die can mean different things in German:

• die Erdbeeren = the strawberries
  Here, die is the plural definite article.
• die Melone = the melon
  Here, die is the feminine singular definite article.

So even though the form is the same, the grammar is different:

• die Erdbeere = the strawberry
• die Erdbeeren = the strawberries
• die Melone = the melon

German articles often overlap like this, so you have to tell from the noun and verb whether it is singular or plural.

Why is the verb sind with Erdbeeren, but schmeckt with Melone?

Because the subjects are different, and the sentence uses two different verbs:

• Die Erdbeeren sind manchmal sauer
  sind comes from sein = to be
• die Melone schmeckt dagegen fast immer süß
  schmeckt comes from schmecken = to taste

Also:

• Erdbeeren is plural, so it takes sind
• Melone is singular, so it takes schmeckt

So the sentence is contrasting:

• strawberries are sometimes sour
• the melon tastes almost always sweet

Could the first part also use instead of ?