Breakdown of Die alten Traktoren stehen hinter dem Haus.
das Haus
the house
alt
old
stehen
to stand
hinter
behind
Questions & Answers about Die alten Traktoren stehen hinter dem Haus.
Why does the adjective alt have an -en ending here?
In this sentence, die alten Traktoren is in the plural. When you have a plural noun that comes right after a definite article (like die), a possessive article (like meine), or the negative article keine, the adjective always gets an -en ending. Since we are using the plural die, alt becomes alten.
What is the singular form of Traktoren?
The singular is der Traktor. Many German nouns that come from other languages and end in -or form their plural by adding -en to the end. Notice that the spoken emphasis also shifts to the o in the plural: die Traktoren.
Could I just use the verb sind (are) instead of stehen (are standing)?
You could, and people would understand you, but German prefers to be specific about how things are located. Because tractors have wheels and rest upright on the ground, Germans naturally use stehen (to stand) rather than just sein (to be) to describe their physical location.
Why is it hinter dem Haus and not hinter das Haus?