Breakdown of Der Mann im Schatten nannte das Alibi für das Rätsel.
der Mann
the man
für
for
nennen
to name
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
Questions & Answers about Der Mann im Schatten nannte das Alibi für das Rätsel.
Why is the simple past tense of nennen written as nannte instead of nennte?
The verb nennen (to name) is a mixed verb. This means it combines features of both weak and strong verbs in the simple past (Präteritum). It takes the typical weak verb ending -te, but it also has a vowel change in the stem (the e becomes an a), which is a feature of strong verbs. Other common mixed verbs include kennen (past tense: kannte) and bringen (past tense: brachte).
Why does the sentence use im Schatten instead of in den Schatten?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the man is simply located in the shadow (answering the question where?), we use the dative case. The word im is a contraction of in dem. If he were walking into the shadow (answering where to?), you would use the accusative case: in den Schatten.
Why is it für das Rätsel? Doesn't the sentence already use the dative case earlier?
Cases are applied per preposition, not per sentence. While im triggers the dative case for Schatten, the preposition für always forces the noun that immediately follows it into the accusative case. Since Rätsel is a neuter noun, its accusative article remains das.
Would I use the word Rätsel to talk about a jigsaw puzzle?