Breakdown of Der Ehemann arbeitet in einem Büro.
ein
a, an (eine)
arbeiten
to work
in
in
das Büro
the office
der Ehemann
the husband
Questions & Answers about Der Ehemann arbeitet in einem Büro.
Why is the word for "husband" Ehemann instead of just Mann?
While Mann often means "husband" in everyday German (like mein Mann for "my husband"), Ehemann is the specific, unmistakable word for a married man. It is a compound noun made from die Ehe (the marriage) and der Mann (the man/husband).
Why does the verb arbeitet have an extra e before the final t?
The base stem of the verb arbeiten (to work) is arbeit-, which ends in a hard t sound. To make it easier to pronounce, German adds an extra e before the normal -t ending for the he/she/it form. You also do this for the you forms, like du arbeitest and ihr arbeitet.
Why do we use in einem Büro instead of in ein Büro?
The word in is a "two-way" preposition. Because the husband is already located inside the office working (answering the question "where?"), it forces the noun into the dative case. Büro is a neuter noun (das Büro), so the word ein changes to the dative form einem.
Could I use bei instead of in to say he works at an office?
You use in here because an office (das Büro) is a physical space or room. You would use bei if you were naming the specific company or person he works for, such as Er arbeitet bei Siemens (He works at Siemens).
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