Breakdown of Wir feiern den zwanzigsten Jahrestag.
wir
we
feiern
to celebrate
zwanzigste
twentieth
der Jahrestag
the anniversary
Questions & Answers about Wir feiern den zwanzigsten Jahrestag.
Why does the word for 20th end in -en (zwanzigsten) instead of just -e (zwanzigste)?
Ordinal numbers act exactly like regular adjectives. Because the anniversary is the direct object (the thing being celebrated), it is in the accusative case. The word Jahrestag is masculine, so the article changes to den, and the ordinal number takes the masculine accusative adjective ending -en, making it zwanzigsten.
How do we build ordinal numbers from 20 onwards?
For numbers from 20 and up, you add -st to the base number, followed by the required adjective ending. So zwanzig (20) becomes zwanzigst-. Smaller numbers (from 2 to 19) only add a -t before the ending, like der zweite (the 2nd).
Why do we use the article den here instead of der?
The verb feiern (to celebrate) requires a direct object, which is the thing you are actually celebrating. In German, direct objects take the accusative case. Since Jahrestag is a masculine noun (der Jahrestag), its article must change to den.
How does the compound word Jahrestag break down?
It is made of das Jahr (the year) and der Tag (the day), connected by an extra -es-. It literally translates to year's day. Remember that the gender of a German compound noun always comes from its very last part, which is why the whole word is masculine just like der Tag.
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