Die Sonne und der Mond sind Himmelskörper. Sie scheint von allein, er reflektiert ihr Licht.
The English translation would be: The sun and the moon are celestial bodies. It shines on its own, it reflects its light.
If we pretend, we don't know how the sun and the moon work for a second, we can't tell which one is the light source and which one the reflector, in English. In German we can, cause the sun is considered feminine and the moon is considered masculine.
So the German is closer to: The sun and the moon are celestial bodies. She shines on her own, he reflects her light.
But in English that makes no sense, unless the sun and the moon as personified in some way. In German it's just grammar.
Another example would be: Der Hund jagd die Maus, der sonst den ganzen Tag schläft.
The dog hunts the mouse, who usually sleeps the whole day.
Who is usually sleeping? In English we can't tell, in German it's clear.
The dog (masc.) hunts the mouse (fem.), who (masc.) sleeps the whole day.
no subject
Die Sonne und der Mond sind Himmelskörper. Sie scheint von allein, er reflektiert ihr Licht.
The English translation would be:
The sun and the moon are celestial bodies. It shines on its own, it reflects its light.
If we pretend, we don't know how the sun and the moon work for a second, we can't tell which one is the light source and which one the reflector, in English. In German we can, cause the sun is considered feminine and the moon is considered masculine.
So the German is closer to:
The sun and the moon are celestial bodies. She shines on her own, he reflects her light.
But in English that makes no sense, unless the sun and the moon as personified in some way. In German it's just grammar.
Another example would be:
Der Hund jagd die Maus, der sonst den ganzen Tag schläft.
The dog hunts the mouse, who usually sleeps the whole day.
Who is usually sleeping? In English we can't tell, in German it's clear.
The dog (masc.) hunts the mouse (fem.), who (masc.) sleeps the whole day.
does that make sense?