Breakdown of Er entwickelt den Motor einer Rakete.
ein
a, an (eine)
er
he
die Rakete
the rocket
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Motor
the engine
entwickeln
to develop
Questions & Answers about Er entwickelt den Motor einer Rakete.
Why does it say einer Rakete when Rakete is a feminine noun?
In the genitive case, which shows possession ("of a rocket" or "a rocket's"), the feminine indefinite article eine changes to einer.
I thought genitive nouns get an -s or -es at the end. Why isn't it einer Raketes?
Only masculine and neuter nouns add an -s or -es in the genitive case. Because Rakete is feminine, the noun itself doesn't change at all—only its article changes to einer.
In English, we usually say "a rocket's engine". Can I change the word order to match that in German?
It is much more natural to keep the German word order here. The noun that owns something (the genitive part, einer Rakete) almost always comes after the thing it owns (den Motor). It literally structures the sentence as "the engine of a rocket".
Just to review, why is it den Motor instead of der Motor?
Motor is a masculine noun. In this sentence, it is the direct object (the thing being developed), so it must be in the accusative case. The masculine "der" word der changes to den in the accusative.
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