Great question! Let's break it down:
### Sentence:
**"Der Bär und die Maus brauchen eine Wohnung."**
\= "The bear and the mouse need an apartment."
---
### Why **"eine" Wohnung**?
It depends on:
1. **Gender of the noun "Wohnung"**
2. **Case (Akkusativ / accusative in this sentence)**
3. **Plural or singular**
---
### Step-by-step:
#### 1. **"Wohnung"** = apartment
* **Gender:** feminine (**die Wohnung**)
* **Plural:** Wohnungen
#### 2. **The verb "brauchen"** (to need)
This verb takes the **accusative** case:
* They **need** what? → They need **an apartment** → accusative object.
#### 3. Feminine article in accusative:
* Nominative: **eine Wohnung**
* Accusative: **eine Wohnung** (same as nominative for feminine nouns!)
So:
* **"eine"** is correct because:
* "Wohnung" is **feminine**
* It's in the **accusative case**
* Feminine accusative = **eine**
---
### What about **ein** or **einen**?
* **ein** is for:
* **neuter** nouns in nominative or accusative:
* z.B. *ein Haus* (a house) – **neuter**
* **einen** is for:
* **masculine** nouns in **accusative**:
* z.B. *Ich habe einen Hund.* (I have a dog) – **masculine**
---
### Summary:
| Gender | Nominative | Accusative |
| --------- | ---------- | ---------- |
| Masculine | ein | **einen** |
| Feminine | **eine** | **eine** |
| Neuter | ein | ein |
So in your sentence, **"eine Wohnung"** is correct because **Wohnung is feminine** and **used in the accusative** after "brauchen".
Let me know if you want to practice with more examples!
