When to use it
Use it to ask a classmate or your child whether the homework was explained.
The sentence in English: “Did the teacher explain the homework?”
"Did the teacher explain the homework?" uses "did" for a question in the past, so "explain" stays in its base form. "Homework" has no plural.
- Did
- auxiliary verbdo · tense: past · auxiliary that makes a question in the past
- the
- determinerdefinite article
- teacher
- nounnoun
- explain
- verbexplain · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · after "did" the verb stays in its base form
- the
- determinerdefinite article
- homework
- noununcountable noun; it has no plural
The sentence in German: “Hat der Lehrer die Hausaufgaben erklärt?”
"Hat der Lehrer die Hausaufgaben erklärt?" uses the Perfekt, the normal spoken past in German: "hat" opens the question and "erklärt" goes to the end. "Hausaufgaben" is plural in German.
- Hat
- auxiliary verbhaben · tense: present · mood: indicative · person: third · number: singular · auxiliary of the Perfekt; it opens the question
- der
- determinerdefinite article, masculine: "the"
- Lehrer
- nounmasculine noun: "teacher" (a woman teacher is "Lehrerin")
- die
- determinerdefinite article, plural: "the"
- Hausaufgaben
- nounfeminine plural compound: Haus + Aufgaben, "homework"
- erklärt
- verberklären · form: past participle · "explained"; the participle goes to the end
What changes from one language to the other: English × German
English uses the simple past with "did"; German speech prefers the Perfekt with "haben". German says "homework" in the plural, "die Hausaufgaben", while the English word has no plural.
Example conversation
— Hat der Lehrer die Hausaufgaben erklärt?
— Did the teacher explain the homework?
— Ja, wir müssen sie bis Freitag machen.
— Yes, we have to do it by Friday.