Breakdown of Wir lesen das Urteil des Richters vor.
wir
we
vorlesen
to read aloud
der Richter
the judge
das Urteil
the verdict
Questions & Answers about Wir lesen das Urteil des Richters vor.
Why does this sentence say des Richters instead of der Richter?
This is the genitive case, which shows possession (like saying 'of the judge'). Because Richter (judge) is a masculine noun, the article changes to des and we add an -s to the end of the noun.
Why does des Richters come after das Urteil?
In German, a noun in the genitive case almost always comes right after the thing being owned. So instead of 'the judge's verdict', the sentence structure is literally 'the verdict of the judge'.
Why is the word vor at the very end of the sentence?
It belongs to the separable verb vorlesen (to read aloud). When you conjugate a separable verb in a main clause, the main part (lesen) takes the second position in the sentence, and the prefix (vor) is kicked to the very end.
Is das Urteil in the nominative or accusative case here?
It is in the accusative case because the verdict is the direct object (the thing being read aloud). Since Urteil is a neuter noun, its accusative article das looks exactly the same as its nominative article.