Questions & Answers about Am achten Mai besuchen wir den Opa.
Why is it achten and not just achte?
To say "on the" for a date, we use am, which is a combined form of an + dem (dative case). When an ordinal number like achte (eighth) comes after a dative article, it takes an -n ending. Therefore, achte becomes achten.
Why does the verb besuchen come before the subject wir?
This is because of the German "verb-second" rule. The time phrase Am achten Mai takes up the first position in the sentence. The verb must always take the second position, so besuchen comes next, pushing the subject wir into the third position.
Why is it den Opa and not just Opa like in English?
In German, it is very common to use the definite article (the) before names and family members, even though we wouldn't say "the grandpa" in English. It is den instead of der because grandpa is the direct object (the person being visited), which puts him in the accusative case.
The translation says "we are visiting," but isn't besuchen in the present tense?
Yes! First, German doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense like English does. Second, German frequently uses the simple present tense to talk about future plans, as long as the sentence includes a time phrase (like Am achten Mai) that makes it obvious the event is happening later.