Breakdown of Der zwölfte und der dreizehnte August waren sehr heiß.
sein
to be
und
and
sehr
very
heiß
hot
der August
August
zwölfte
twelfth
dreizehnte
thirteenth
Questions & Answers about Der zwölfte und der dreizehnte August waren sehr heiß.
How are words like zwölfte and dreizehnte formed?
For most numbers up to 19, you just add -te to the normal number. So zwölf (twelve) becomes zwölfte (twelfth), and dreizehn (thirteen) becomes dreizehnte (thirteenth).
Why do zwölfte and dreizehnte end in -e?
Ordinal numbers act exactly like adjectives. Because these dates are the subject of the sentence (in the nominative case) and they come after the definite article der, the correct adjective ending is just -e. If we were saying 'on the twelfth' instead, the case would change and it would become am zwölften.
Does German always leave out the word 'of' when giving dates like der zwölfte August?
Yes, when saying 'the 12th of August' in German, you don't need a word for 'of'. You simply put the month right after the ordinal number. Since all months in German are masculine, the phrase uses the masculine article der.
Why is the verb waren (were) in the plural if we are talking about a single month?
The subject of the sentence isn't the month of August as a whole, but rather two specific days: the 12th and the 13th. Since there are two days, the verb must be plural (waren instead of the singular war).
Learn Der zwölfte und der dreizehnte August waren sehr heiß and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free