Breakdown of Die Schülerin liest die kurze Zusammenfassung.
lesen
to read
kurz
short
die Zusammenfassung
the summary
die Schülerin
the student (female)
Questions & Answers about Die Schülerin liest die kurze Zusammenfassung.
Why are there two die in this sentence?
Because die is being used with two different feminine singular nouns:
- die Schülerin = the female pupil/student
- die kurze Zusammenfassung = the short summary
In German, die can be:
- feminine singular nominative
- feminine singular accusative
- plural nominative
- plural accusative
So even though both words are die, they are not doing the same job here. The first die Schülerin is the subject, and the second die kurze Zusammenfassung is the direct object.
How do I know that die Schülerin is the subject?
In a normal German main clause, the subject often comes before the verb. Here the order is:
- Die Schülerin = subject
- liest = verb
- die kurze Zusammenfassung = object
So the sentence follows the common pattern:
Subject + verb + object
Also, lesen is a transitive verb, so it usually has something being read. That makes die kurze Zusammenfassung the thing being read.
Why does Schülerin end in -in?