Breakdown of Ist das Urteil des Gerichts richtig?
sein
to be
richtig
right
das Urteil
the verdict
das Gericht
the court
Questions & Answers about Ist das Urteil des Gerichts richtig?
Why does Gericht have an -s at the end here?
This sentence uses the genitive case to show possession, meaning "of the court" or "the court's". For masculine and neuter nouns like das Gericht, the "the" article changes to des, and you must add an -s or -es to the end of the noun itself.
Why is the word order reversed? Shouldn't it be des Gerichts Urteil to match "the court's verdict"?
In German, the noun showing possession in the genitive case almost always comes after the thing being owned. So instead of "the court's verdict", the German structure is literally "the verdict of the court" (das Urteil des Gerichts).
I learned that das Gericht means "the meal" or "the dish". Why does it mean "court" here?
The word das Gericht has two completely different meanings depending on the context: a prepared dish of food, or a legal court. Because this sentence asks about an Urteil (verdict), we know it means "court" here.
Since des is used for both masculine and neuter nouns in the genitive, how can I tell what gender Gericht is from this sentence?
You actually can't tell just by looking at des Gerichts, because masculine and neuter nouns share this exact same genitive pattern. You simply have to remember its base nominative form: das Gericht (neuter).
Learn Ist das Urteil des Gerichts richtig 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