Questions & Answers about Wir wohnen zusammen in einer Wohngemeinschaft.
Why do we say in einer instead of in eine here?
The word in is a two-way preposition. Because the sentence describes a fixed location (where you live) rather than movement towards a destination, it triggers the dative case. Since Wohngemeinschaft is a feminine noun, the dative form of eine becomes einer.
Is there a trick to remembering the gender of Wohngemeinschaft?
Yes! This is a compound noun, and in German, the last word in the chain always determines the gender. The last part is Gemeinschaft (community), which ends in -schaft. Every single German noun ending in -schaft is feminine.
Do Germans really use this long word in everyday conversation?
Usually, no! In daily life, Germans almost always abbreviate this word to WG (pronounced 'veh-gey'). You will most often hear people say Wir wohnen in einer WG.
How would I say 'We live in a flatshare, but it is mine' using the possessive pronouns from this lesson?
You would say: Wir wohnen in einer Wohngemeinschaft, aber es ist meine. In the second half of the sentence, the pronoun meine (mine) acts on its own to replace the feminine noun die Wohngemeinschaft. Because it replaces a feminine noun, it takes the feminine -e ending.