Breakdown of Wann ist das Konzert? Um acht?
sein
to be
acht
eight
wann
when
um
at (time)
das Konzert
the concert
Questions & Answers about Wann ist das Konzert? Um acht?
Why do we use um here to translate "at"?
In German, the word um is specifically used for clock times. While the English word "at" can translate to several different German words depending on the context (like for locations), you will always use um when stating a specific hour, like um acht (at eight).
Is it grammatically correct to leave out the word Uhr (o'clock) here?
Yes! Just like in English, you can often drop the word Uhr in casual, everyday speech when the meaning is obvious. Saying um acht (at eight) is just as natural and correct here as saying um acht Uhr (at eight o'clock).
I often confuse the German words for "when". Why do we use wann here instead of wenn?
You use wann because you are asking a direct question about at what time an event is happening. The similar-sounding word wenn is only used for conditions, meaning "if" or "whenever" (such as "If it rains..."). For asking time questions, always choose wann.
Why is the article das used for Konzert?
In German, every noun has a grammatical gender, and Konzert happens to be a neuter noun. Because of this, it uses the neuter word for "the", which is das. There isn't an obvious reason why it is neuter, so it is highly recommended to always memorize the article right along with the noun as a single package: das Konzert.
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