Breakdown of Ab nächster Woche ist das Abo kostenlos.
sein
to be
die Woche
the week
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
ab
from / starting at
das Abo
the subscription
kostenlos
free of charge
nächste
next
Questions & Answers about Ab nächster Woche ist das Abo kostenlos.
Why does nächste have an -r at the end (nächster Woche)?
The preposition ab (starting from) always requires the dative case. The word for week, die Woche, is feminine. In the dative case, feminine words take an -r ending. Because there is no article here (like "the" or "a"), the adjective nächste has to do the heavy lifting and take that -r ending to show the case, becoming nächster Woche.
Why is the verb ist placed before the subject das Abo?
In German, the main verb must always be in the second position of a regular sentence. Because the time phrase ab nächster Woche (starting next week) takes up the entire first position, the verb ist comes second, and the subject das Abo is pushed to the third position.
Is das Abo a complete word or an abbreviation?
It is short for das Abonnement (the subscription). Just like in English where "app" is short for "application", Germans love to shorten long words in everyday speech. Das Abo is much more common in daily use than the full word.
Could I use frei instead of kostenlos to say the subscription is "free"?
No, you should stick to kostenlos. In German, kostenlos specifically means "free of charge" (from die Kosten, meaning costs). The word frei usually means "free" in the sense of freedom, having free time, or a seat being unoccupied.
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