Breakdown of Ich freue mich auf die Architektur unserer alten Kirche.
ich
I
alt
old
unser
our
sich freuen auf
to look forward to (with auf)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Kirche
the church
die Architektur
the architecture
Questions & Answers about Ich freue mich auf die Architektur unserer alten Kirche.
Why use auf here? Doesn't it usually mean 'on'?
In German, the reflexive verb sich freuen changes its meaning depending on the preposition. sich freuen auf is a fixed combination that means 'to look forward to' something in the future. If you were happy about something happening right now or in the past, you would use sich freuen über.
Why is die Architektur in the accusative case? Doesn't auf sometimes take the dative?
auf is a two-way preposition, but when it belongs to a fixed verb phrase like sich freuen auf (to look forward to), it always requires the accusative case.
Why is it unserer Kirche? Is that the dative case?
It is actually the genitive case, which shows possession (translating to the architecture of our old church). Because Kirche is a feminine noun, the possessive word unser (our) takes the feminine genitive ending -er, making it unserer.
Why does the adjective alt (old) end in -en here?
This is because of the genitive case. When an adjective comes after a possessive word like unserer in the genitive, the adjective gets an -en ending. So, alt becomes alten.
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