Breakdown of Bei einem Stromausfall brauchst du Batterien.
ein
a, an (eine)
du
you (informal singular)
brauchen
to need
bei
at, near, with
Questions & Answers about Bei einem Stromausfall brauchst du Batterien.
This lesson is about falls (in case). Why isn't it used here?
German often uses the preposition bei followed by a noun to express a condition simply. Bei einem Stromausfall (In case of a power outage) is just a shorter, alternative way to say Falls es einen Stromausfall gibt (In case there is a power outage).
Why is it einem Stromausfall instead of ein Stromausfall?
The preposition bei always triggers the dative case. Because der Stromausfall (power outage) is a masculine noun, the indefinite article ein changes to its dative form, einem.
Why does the verb come before the subject (brauchst du)?
In standard German sentences, the conjugated verb must take the second position. The entire prepositional phrase Bei einem Stromausfall occupies position 1. Because of this, the verb brauchst takes position 2, pushing the subject du to position 3.
How is the compound word Stromausfall formed?
It combines der Strom (electricity/current) and der Ausfall (failure/outage). As with all German compound nouns, the overall gender is determined by the final word, making it der Stromausfall.