Breakdown of Wir wollten den Brunnen bewundern, der sich gegenüber der Bank befindet.
wir
we
die Bank
the bank
wollen
to want
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
Questions & Answers about Wir wollten den Brunnen bewundern, der sich gegenüber der Bank befindet.
Why does it say der Bank when the word for bank is feminine (die Bank)?
The preposition gegenüber (opposite) always requires the dative case. Since Bank is a feminine noun, its article changes from die to der in the dative case.
Could I also write der Bank gegenüber instead of gegenüber der Bank?
Yes! The preposition gegenüber is special because it can go either right before or right after the noun it refers to. Both gegenüber der Bank and der Bank gegenüber mean the exact same thing and are perfectly correct.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with der, and why is befindet at the very end?
The word der here is a relative pronoun meaning "that" or "which." It refers back to the masculine noun den Brunnen (the fountain) from the first half of the sentence. Because this creates a relative clause (a sub-sentence describing a noun), the conjugated verb befindet is pushed to the very end.
Why is there a sich in the second half of the sentence?
It belongs to the verb sich befinden, which is a reflexive verb meaning "to be located." In German, you do not just say a place "is located" somewhere; you say it "locates itself," which is why you need the reflexive pronoun sich.