When tracing the milestones of aviation history, you naturally need to state the years when major events happened. While English speakers default to saying "in 1903", German handles historical years differently.
The "Zero Preposition" Rule
In standard German, you never use the word in directly before a year. If you want to say "in 1928", the most common way is to simply state the number all by itself, with no preposition at all.
| In 1928, a female pilot crossed the Atlantic. | 1928 hat eine Pilotin den Atlantik überquert. |
This works whether the year is at the beginning of the sentence, or placed later in the clause to modify an event:
| The maiden flight in 1903 was a milestone for aviation. | Der Erstflug 1903 war ein Meilenstein für die Luftfahrt. |
The Phrase "im Jahr"
If you prefer to use a prepositional phrase, you must use the full phrase im Jahr (in the year). Saying in 1919 is an anglicism; you must say im Jahr 1919.
| In the year 1919, the pilot took off for the first time. | Im Jahr 1919 ist der Pilot zum ersten Mal gestartet. |
| The maiden flight across the Atlantic was in the year 1919. | Der Erstflug über den Atlantik war im Jahr 1919. |
Word Order Reminders
Time expressions are frequently placed at the very beginning of a sentence to set the scene. When you do this, remember that German main clauses strictly follow the "verb-second" rule.
Whether your time expression is a single number (1939) or a full phrase (im Jahr 1927), it occupies the first grammatical position. The conjugated verb must be the very next element.
| In 1939, the airline bought the first helicopter. | 1939 hat die Fluggesellschaft den ersten Hubschrauber gekauft. |
| In the year 1927, the pilot flew through the storm. | Im Jahr 1927 ist der Pilot durch den Sturm geflogen. |
When stating the year inside a subordinate clause (like after weil or dass), the "verb-second" rule no longer applies. The time expression stays in the middle of the clause, and the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end of the sentence, exactly as you would expect.
| 1920 was a milestone because aviation grew quickly. | 1920 war ein Meilenstein, weil die Luftfahrt schnell gewachsen ist. |
