Breakdown of Die Konferenz fängt am Montag um neun Uhr an.
neun
nine
um
at (time)
anfangen
to start
die Uhr
the clock / o'clock
der Montag
Monday
am
on the / at the
die Konferenz
the conference
Questions & Answers about Die Konferenz fängt am Montag um neun Uhr an.
Why is the word an at the very end of the sentence?
This is because the verb is anfangen (to start), which is a separable verb. In a normal main clause, the prefix an breaks off from the core verb (fängt) and goes to the very end of the sentence.
Why is the verb spelled fängt with an umlaut instead of fangt?
The verb anfangen has a stem vowel change in the present tense. For the du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms, the a changes to an ä. Since Die Konferenz is a singular third-person subject, we use the er/sie/es form.
Why do we say am Montag but um neun Uhr?
German uses specific prepositions for different time phrases. You must use am (a contraction of an dem) for days of the week and dates. You use um for exact clock times.
Can I use Stunde instead of Uhr to say nine o'clock?
No, you need to use Uhr when giving a specific time on the clock, just like o'clock in English. Stunde means hour and is only used to describe how long something takes, like a duration of one hour.
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