English Translation
Give these children three pieces each.
Another bad translation from ClozeMaster:
“Geben Sie jedem der Kinder drei Stück.” is a German sentence that translates to “Give each of the children three pieces.” in English. If you are learning German, it is helpful to understand the sentence structure and grammar components used here:
Geben: This is the infinitive form of the verb “to give.” In the sentence, it’s in the imperative form, which is used for giving commands or requests. In this case, it is directed to a formal “you” indicated by “Sie,” which is the formal address for “you” in German and is always capitalized.
Sie: As mentioned, this is the formal “you” in German. When used in the imperative, it indicates that the speaker is giving a command to someone they’re addressing formally.
jedem: This is the dative form of “jeder,” meaning “each” or “every.” It is in the dative case because it is indirectly receiving the action of the verb. In German, when you give something to someone (an indirect object), you typically use the dative case.
der Kinder: This is a genitive plural construction. “Der” indicates the genitive case, used to show possession, and “Kinder” is the plural of “Kind,” meaning “children.” So “der Kinder” translates to “of the children.”
drei: This number simply means “three.”
Stück: This noun means “piece” or “slice.” Its plural form is also “Stück.” It does not change in the plural unlike many other German nouns.
So, putting it all together, you have an imperative sentence telling someone (formally) to give three pieces to each of the children. Note that the verb “geben” comes first because this is an imperative sentence, and the personal pronoun “Sie” immediately follows it, which is standard for formal commands. The rest of the sentence provides the details of how many pieces and to whom they should be given.
Here’s the breakdown of the sentence structure in German syntax:
Verb (in imperative form) + Formal “you” + Indirect object (what is being given) in dative case + Genitive construction indicating possession + Quantity + Object (what is being distributed).
Geben (imperative) + Sie (formal you) + jedem (each) + der Kinder (of the children) + drei (three) + Stück (pieces).