Breakdown of Wir feiern Silvester mit Freunden.
wir
we
der Freund
the friend
feiern
to celebrate
mit
with
Silvester
New Year's Eve
Questions & Answers about Wir feiern Silvester mit Freunden.
Is Silvester the general word for "New Year"?
Silvester specifically means "New Year's Eve" (December 31st, or der 31. Dezember). The name comes from Pope Sylvester I, whose feast day falls on that date! If you want to talk about New Year's Day itself (January 1st, or der 1. Januar), you would use the word Neujahr.
If I wanted to say "on New Year's Eve", would I use im like I do for months (e.g., im Dezember)?
No. You use im (in the) for months, seasons, and years. But for specific single days and holidays, you use an or zu. To say "on New Year's Eve", you would say an Silvester or zu Silvester.
Why don't we say das Silvester or use an article here?
Just like in English, most holidays and festivals in German don't need a definite article (like "der", "die", or "das") when you talk about celebrating them. You just say Wir feiern Silvester (We celebrate New Year's Eve) or Wir feiern Weihnachten (We celebrate Christmas).
Why is there an extra -n at the end of Freunden?
The normal plural for friends is Freunde. However, the preposition mit (with) always forces the noun following it into the dative case. In German, plural nouns in the dative case almost always get an extra -n added to the end. So, Freunde becomes Freunden.
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