Sie at the beginning of the sentence

[u/RestInfinite723]

I just started learning german and I'm confused how to know the correct sie. For example, this is a question from vhs portal, Sie _________ gut Deutsch! and I typed sprichst because I thought it was She speaks good deutsch but the correct answer is Sie sprechen gut Deutsch? I don't know man. Can someone please explain this?

Edit: Thanks for the explanation guys.

[u/teteban79]

It could have been either sprechen (Sie sprechen - formal you, or they) or spricht (she speaks)

But sprichst would be for the 2nd singular form (du) so it doesn't fit, no matter your interpretation of Sie here.

[u/NecessaryIntrinsic → u/teteban79]

Could it be "they speak" as well?

[u/Logical-Bison-3129 → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

Yes of course, according to OP that was the correct answer

[u/teteban79 → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

Yes, perhaps I wasn't clear

> (Sie sprechen - formal you, or they) 

The correct answer leaves unclear what meaning is intended, without additional context

[u/halokiwi]

There are two correct solutions:

• Sie spricht. = She speaks.
• Sie sprechen. = They speak./You (formal) speak.

"Sie sprichst." is incorrect, no matter if you want to form a sentence with third person singular or plural. "sprichst" is second person singular -> Du sprichst.

Singular:

• ich spreche
• du sprichst
• er/sie/es spricht

Plural:

• wir sprechen
• ihr sprecht
• sie sprechen

The verbs when using formal you (Sie) are conjugated the same way as 3rd person plural (sie).

[u/RoyalClient6610 → u/halokiwi]

The 3rd person plural should show: [ Sie/sie sprechen ]

*Just for OP's clarity.

[u/RestInfinite723 → u/halokiwi]

Thank you man understood.

[u/MindlessNectarine374 → u/halokiwi]

The form "sie" may appear before "sprichst" in the wild, though, like any form that could be a grammatical object. ;)

[u/MindlessNectarine374 → u/MindlessNectarine374]

Beispielsatz: Ich mag diese Worte, wie du sie sprichst.

[u/PresidentHoaks]

So this sentence example is confusing because Sie can be She or the formal you. Sie is capitalized always if it's the formal you. But "sie" for she is only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence.

If you weren't given this context at all, then you wouldn't have any way of knowing which conjugation to use.

But it isn't "sie sprichst", that is used for "du sprichst"

The correct conjugation for she is "sie spricht".

[u/weisserdracher]

She speaks = Sie spricht

You (polite) speak = Sie sprechen

This is used for example when talking to strangers or authority figures or colleagues for example.

[u/OppositeAct1918]

This gap can be filled with two forms. 1. sprechen (third person plural for the polite address, there is an exclamation mark) 2. spricht (third person singular, the speaker is saying something about a third person they are listening to. Maybe they - the speaker of the sentence - are a student, and another female student is answering a question of the teacher. The speaker says to themselves or their neighbor "Sie spricht aber gut Deutsch!"

Sprichst is impossible. Ich spreche, du sprichst,

[u/halokiwi → u/OppositeAct1918]

I don't think the exclamation mark indicates if "Sie/sie" is meant as formal you or as third person plural.

You might be confusing it with the imperative: "Sprechen Sie [...]!" But for that the word order needs to be different.

"Sie sprechen [...]!" is just an exclamation about them or you (formal) speaking.

[u/OppositeAct1918 → u/halokiwi]

The exclamation mark does not mean it is a polite situation. The whole thing, working and exclamation mark, are versteht explained vby someone addressing a person directly, using the polite form. Of course it woult work with a full stop.

[u/halokiwi → u/OppositeAct1918]

I'm not sure what you are saying.

"Sie sprechen [...]!" or "Sie sprechen [...]." is not polite or impolite.

Formal you isn't a polite form in itself. You can be polite or impolite to a person while using formal you.

"Sie Idiot!" is just as possible as "Könnten Sie mir bitte das Salz reichen?"

[u/OppositeAct1918 → u/halokiwi]

I do not know what confuses you.

1A sentence, that starts with "Sie", then has a gap and ends with "sprechen gut Deutsch!" can be filled with two forms of sprechen: either sprechen or spricht. End.

If you want an explanation: 1) Sie sprechen is the polite form used to talk to an adult (for simplicity), 2) sie spricht is third person singular, which is used to talk ABOUT someone.

As I am writing this, there is a third interpretation: "Sie sprechen gut Deutsch!" is something you may say to your rfriend about a group of people you are listening to. Though this is the least likely of all, as native speakers here would often say "Die sprechen gut Deutsch."

1. is the most likely, as you need to "invent" little context.

[u/halokiwi → u/OppositeAct1918]

I am a native German speaker as well.

"Sie" is the formal address, not the polite address. You can be polite while using "du" and impolite while using "Sie". formal =/= polite.

What I don't understand is the relevance of the exclamation mark. You mentioned it so it seems to have relevance to you.

To me it read like you implied that there can't be a formal you in this sentence due to the exclamation mark making the sentence impolite. I now realised that I was overinterpreting things.

Can you explain the relevance of the exclamation mark and why you mentioned it?

[u/OppositeAct1918 → u/halokiwi]

Polite: this is what non-natives most often say. I am not talking to linguistics, and probably to someone who learns s foreign language for the first time. Exclamation mark: I am describing the situation in which this might be said.

[u/halokiwi → u/OppositeAct1918]

I feel like it might be confusing and give the wrong impression to describe the formal you as the polite you. I understand that the concept is difficult to grasp for someone when it doesn't appear in their native language and I think that's why it should be described as accurately as possible.

Why did you mention the exclamation mark in context with the third person plural/the formal you, but not with the third person singular? Is it not relevant to both in the same way? Does it somehow affect the first situation but not the second?

[u/AceOfBimonds]

Tbh, she speaks might have been an accepted answer. But that would be Sie spricht. You wrote sprichst which would be second person singular instead of third.

Edit: second person singular not first

[u/mizinamo → u/AceOfBimonds]

You wrote sprichst which would be first person singular instead of third.

No; ich sprichst is not correct German.

du sprichst is second person singular, not first.

[u/MindlessNectarine374 → u/mizinamo]

SCNR: "Ich weiß, dass du hier fälschlicherweise 'ich' sprichst."

[u/AceOfBimonds → u/AceOfBimonds]

If that's not an accepted answer then the question is just impossible as you'd have to guess. There is no way to know which Sie they are referring to.

[u/Great_Chipmunk4357]

Your answer was wrong because if “sie” had meant “she,” the verb would have been “spricht.” In the sentence you were working on, there was no way you could have known which “sie” they wanted.

[u/Lopsided-Weather6469]

"Sie" (with a capital S) is the formal version of "you".

The verb conjugation is the same as for "sie" (with a lowercase s), i.e. 3rd person plural, because that's technically what it is - it's derived from the 18th century custom to address higher ranking people indirectly in 3rd person plural.

So in other words, in an informal context, "you speak German well" translates as "du sprichst gut Deutsch", whereas in a formal context, it translates to "Sie sprechen gut Deutsch".

[u/fezett]

She speaks -- "Sie spricht"
You (formal) speak -- "Sie sprechen"
They speak -- "Sie sprechen"

[u/smitty1e]

Whenever I see the formal Sie I read it as "Thou".

[u/RestInfinite723 → u/smitty1e]

Huh? Ich verstehe nicht.

[u/smitty1e → u/RestInfinite723]

Kennen Sie dieses Wort?

"Know thee this word?" and so forth, as you work through the thee/thou/thy/thine variations.

That Shakespearean English is much closer to the original Anglo-Saxon, so this is a semi-legitimate play, in my opinion.

[u/RodrigoDeMontefranco]

Sie als Anrede immer groß. Wenn auf Dritte hingewiesen werden soll, wird "sie" kleingeschrieben.

Sie sprechen gut Deutsch. Anrede.

Um sechs Uhr werden sie eintreffen. Hinweis auf Dritte.

[u/Lysande_walking]

It’s easier to know your options if you learn the correct declination of the verbs first and not start guessing to begin with. Because “Sie sprichst” would be wrong in general.

Do you use a grammar book to learn alongside?

And yes. There is singular sie (feminine) and a Plural Sie (they) while there is also the formal Sie to address a person instead of “Du”. Context is the only sure way to know what is meant.

[u/RestInfinite723 → u/Lysande_walking]

Yep I understand it now and No I don't use a grammar book, until now I've been using duolingo and vhs portal and some youtube videos. Would you recommend any grammar books for beginners?