Breakdown of Ich war vor der Prüfung nervös.
ich
I
sein
to be
vor
before (in time)
nervös
nervous
die Prüfung
the exam
Questions & Answers about Ich war vor der Prüfung nervös.
Why is it der Prüfung if the word for exam is feminine (die Prüfung)?
Because the preposition vor requires the dative case when used to talk about time. In the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der.
Could I say bevor der Prüfung instead of vor der Prüfung?
No, you have to use vor. The word vor is a preposition used directly with a noun, just like 'before the exam' in English. The word bevor is a connecting word used to introduce a whole new mini-sentence with its own verb, like 'before the exam started'.
Why is nervös at the very end of the sentence instead of right after war?
In German, time phrases like vor der Prüfung typically come very early in the sentence, right after the main verb. This pushes descriptive adjectives like nervös all the way to the end.
Is war the usual way to say 'was' in everyday spoken German?
Yes! Even though spoken German usually prefers the spoken past (Perfekt) with a helper verb for most actions, the simple past forms war (was) and hatte (had) are the standard way to talk about the past for these specific verbs, even in casual conversation.
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