Breakdown of Heute ist der elfte November und morgen ist der zwölfte.
sein
to be
und
and
heute
today
morgen
tomorrow
der November
November
elfte
eleventh
zwölfte
twelfth
Questions & Answers about Heute ist der elfte November und morgen ist der zwölfte.
How are the ordinal numbers elfte and zwölfte formed?
For numbers up to 19, you generally add -te to the end of the regular number. So elf (11) becomes elfte (11th), and zwölf (12) becomes zwölfte (12th). Because dates refer to a specific day (der Tag, which is masculine), they take the masculine article der.
Why is there no German word for 'of' in der elfte November?
In English, we say 'the eleventh of November', but German is more direct. You just use the definite article, the ordinal number, and the month: der elfte November. No preposition is needed!
Why are elfte and zwölfte written with lowercase letters here?
In this sentence, they act as adjectives modifying the implied word Tag (day). Adjectives are not capitalized in German, so we write der elfte November (the eleventh day of November).
Why does the sentence just end with der zwölfte?
Just like in English, you don't need to repeat the month if it is obvious from the context. You still need to keep the article der to match the implied word Tag, so 'the twelfth' translates to der zwölfte.
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