sein - to be
ich bin - I am
du bist - you are
er, sie, es ist - he, she, it is
wir sind - we are
ihr seid - you are
sie, Sie sind - they, you are
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You can use “sein” with an adjective to describe people and things.
Ich bin hübsch. - I am handsome. Du bist klug. - You are smart. Er ist stark. - He is strong. Wir sind fleißig. - We are hard working. Ihr seid faul. - You are lazy. Sie sind rothaarig. - They are red-haired.
Simply add the nationality of the person or persons to the sentence to describe them that way. Just don’t use an article like “ein” or “eine”.
Ich bin Amerikaner. - I am an American. Du bist Deutscher. - You are a German. Sie ist Schweizerin. - She is Swiss. Wir sind Österreicher. - We are Austrians. Ihr seid Franzosen. - You are French. Sie sind Spanier. - They are Spaniards.
A: Ich bin amerikanisch. - I am American.
B: NEIN! Das sagt man nicht so. Sag lieber “Ich bin Amerikaner.” Du bist nicht amerikanisch. Dein Akzent ist amerikanisch. Dein Auto ist amerikanisch. Aber du bist Amerikaner. - NO! You don't say that like that. Say instead "I am an American." You are not American. Your accent is American. Your car is American. But you are an American."
If you are looking for the German names for other nationalities, I have a video linked in the corner of this video that I made a while ago that showcases several of the popular countries my viewers live in.
You can do the same thing with occupations. Again, no articles like “ein” or “eine”.
Ich bin Lehrer. - I am a teacher. Bist du Anwältin? - Are you a lawyer (female)? Er ist Schauspieler. - He is an actor. Wir sind Verkäufer. - We are salespeople. Seid ihr Krankenpfleger? - Are you nurses? Meine Brüder sind Mechaniker. - My brothers are mechanics.
If you are identifying an object, you do need an article. If you want to say “the”, use “der”, “die”, or “das” based on the gender of the noun. If you want to say “a” or “an” and the noun is masculine or neuter, use “ein”. If it is feminine, use “eine”. If it is plural, you often don’t need an article, but if you need/want to say “the”, say “die”.
Ich bin ein Mann. - I am a man. Du bist eine Frau. - You are a woman. Das ist ein Pferd. - That is a horse. Der Mann ist der Verbrecher. - The man is the criminal. Die Frau ist die Mutter. - The woman is the mother. Wir sind das Volk. - We are the people. Ihr seid Kinder. - You are all children. Das sind die Stühle. - These are the chairs.
Fun Fact of the Day: “sein” is one of two verbs in the German language which can have two subjects. For example: All of the examples in the last group of examples.
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