Breakdown of Wir warten am Mittwoch im Café auf die Probe.
wir
we
das Café
the cafe
der Mittwoch
Wednesday
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
am
on the / at the
warten auf
to wait for
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Probe
the rehearsal
Questions & Answers about Wir warten am Mittwoch im Café auf die Probe.
Why does am Mittwoch (on Wednesday) come before im Café (in the cafe)?
In English, we usually say 'in the cafe on Wednesday' (Place before Time). But German follows a strict 'Time before Place' rule (often taught as part of the TeKaMoLo rule: Time, Cause, Manner, Place). That is why the time (am Mittwoch) must come before the location (im Café).
Why do we use auf die Probe to say 'for the rehearsal'?
The verb warten (to wait) requires the preposition auf to mean 'to wait for'. When used with warten, auf always triggers the accusative case. Since Probe is feminine, the article remains die, giving us auf die Probe.
Why is it am Mittwoch and im Café?
Am is short for an dem, and im is short for in dem. We use the dative article dem here for two reasons: days of the week always use an + dative, and static locations (where something is happening, rather than movement to a new place) use in + dative.
Could I start the sentence with Am Mittwoch instead of Wir?
Yes! To emphasize the day, you can say: Am Mittwoch warten wir im Café auf die Probe. Remember the strict 'verb second' rule in German: because Am Mittwoch takes up the first spot, the verb warten must stay in the second spot, so the subject wir has to move to position three.
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