Breakdown of Dein Pullover liegt auf dem Sofa, dieser hier ist meiner.
sein
to be
hier
here
der Pullover
the sweater
dein
your (informal)
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
das Sofa
the sofa
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
liegen
to lie
meiner
mine [pronoun, also: meins, meine]
Questions & Answers about Dein Pullover liegt auf dem Sofa, dieser hier ist meiner.
Why does the sentence end with meiner instead of just mein?
Because meiner stands alone and replaces the masculine noun Pullover, meaning mine. When a possessive word stands right in front of a masculine subject, like mein Pullover, it takes no ending. But when it replaces the noun entirely, it needs the -er ending to show the masculine gender.
Why is the first word Dein and not Deiner, since it also refers to a masculine sweater?
Because Dein is sitting right next to the noun it describes (Dein Pullover). Possessive words only get these strong replacement endings, like -er for masculine or -s for neuter, when the noun is completely dropped and the possessive word stands alone.
Why is it dieser and not just dies?
dieser means this one and points back to the masculine noun der Pullover. Because it is the subject of the second half of the sentence, it takes the masculine subject ending -er. Adding hier makes it dieser hier, which translates perfectly to this one here.
Why do we use the dative case in auf dem Sofa?
The preposition auf is a two-way preposition. Because the sweater is already resting in a fixed location (answering the question where?), it requires the dative case. The neuter noun das Sofa changes to dem Sofa in the dative.
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