Question
14 Nov 2014
- English (US)
- Korean
-
German
Closed question
Question about German
What is the difference between Sie isst den Apfel and Den Apfel isst sie ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between Sie isst den Apfel and Den Apfel isst sie ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
Answers
14 Nov 2014
Featured answer
- German
- English (UK) Near fluent
- English (US)
i think both sentences are interchangable. the second one is just not used a lot (I don't think I wer said something this way around, though it is correct) at least that's the case when you use 'essen', to eat. If you used 'kaufen', to buy, it would be Sie kauft den Apfel and Den Apfel kauft sie, I would agree with jojo4400 that it emphasizes that she buys THIS apple, not any of the others. but some words make it sound weird this way around~
Read more comments
- German
By putting den Apfel at the beginning of the sentence you emphasize the fact that she is eating an apple (and not something else).
- German
- English (UK) Near fluent
- English (US)
i think both sentences are interchangable. the second one is just not used a lot (I don't think I wer said something this way around, though it is correct) at least that's the case when you use 'essen', to eat. If you used 'kaufen', to buy, it would be Sie kauft den Apfel and Den Apfel kauft sie, I would agree with jojo4400 that it emphasizes that she buys THIS apple, not any of the others. but some words make it sound weird this way around~
- English (US)
- Korean
Thank you both. Does it get used often in real life conversations?
- German
- English (US) Near fluent
If we want to emphasize something we put it in the front, that's quite common. E.g. Den Apfel, den sie da vorhin gekauft hat, hat sie jetzt dem Bettler geschenkt.

[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!
Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
Sign up
Related questions
- What is the difference between Ich esse nicht Apfel and Ich esse Apfel nicht and Ich esse keinen ...
- What is the difference between sie isst einen Apfel and sie sind einen Apfel ?
- What is the difference between ich gebe dir den Apfel and ich gebe du den Apfel ?
- What is the difference between Ich kaufe einen Apfel and Ich kaufe ein Apfel ?
- What is the difference between Ich kaufe einen Apfel and Ich kaufe Apfel ?
Newest Questions
- What is the difference between The baseball game today and Today’s baseball game ?
- What is the difference between I Plagiarized Parts of My Debut Novel. and I Plagiarized My Debut ...
- What is the difference between my shoes are wet and my shoes got wet ?
- What is the difference between historic and historical ?
- What is the difference between it's a hot climate city and it has a hot climate . are both sente...
Topic Questions
- What is the difference between my shoes are wet and my shoes got wet ?
- What is the difference between They look to be talking. and They look talking. ?
- What is the difference between must and have to ?
- What is the difference between take a risk and take the risk ?
- What is the difference between i don't care and i don't mind ?
Recommended Questions
- What is the difference between "Achso" and "Ach so" ?
- What is the difference between verstorben and gestorben ?
- What is the difference between lieber and liebe ?
- What is the difference between die e-mail and das e-mail ?
- What is the difference between Geburtsname and Vorname ?
Previous question/ Next question