Der Headliner spielt die Setlist heute live.

to play

Breakdown of Der Headliner spielt die Setlist heute live.

• heute: today
• die Setlist: the set list
• der Headliner: the headliner

Questions & Answers about Der Headliner spielt die Setlist heute live.

Why is it der Headliner but die Setlist?

These are the articles showing the grammatical gender and case of the nouns.

• der Headliner = masculine, nominative case
• die Setlist = feminine, accusative case

In this sentence:

• der Headliner is the subject — the person doing the action
• die Setlist is the direct object — the thing being played

So the articles are not chosen by English logic, but by the German gender of each noun.

How do I know which word is the subject and which is the object?

The subject is der Headliner because it is in the nominative case and it agrees with the verb spielt.

The object is die Setlist because it is what is being played.

A useful clue is the article:

• der can mark a masculine nominative singular noun
• die here marks a feminine accusative singular noun

So German often makes the roles clearer through case marking, not only through word order.

Why is the verb spielt and not spielen?