Breakdown of Wegen des Regens blieben wir im Büro.
wir
we
das Büro
the office
der Regen
the rain
bleiben
to stay
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
wegen
because of
Questions & Answers about Wegen des Regens blieben wir im Büro.
Why does the word Regen have an -s at the end here?
The preposition wegen requires the genitive case. Since Regen is a masculine noun (der Regen), the article changes to des and the noun itself gets an -s ending, resulting in wegen des Regens.
I have heard German speakers say wegen dem Regen before. Is that wrong?
In everyday spoken German, you will frequently hear wegen used with the dative case (wegen dem Regen). However, standard German grammar and official language exams require the genitive case. It is best to learn and write wegen des Regens!
Why is the verb blieben placed before the subject wir?
This is because of the V2 rule, which states that the conjugated verb must be in the second position of a main clause. The entire phrase Wegen des Regens occupies position 1, so the verb blieben takes position 2, pushing the subject wir to position 3.
Since in is a two-way preposition, why do we use the dative im (in dem) instead of the accusative ins (in das)?
We use the dative case for static locations where no change of place is happening. Even though the verb bleiben (to stay) is an active choice, it does not involve moving to a new destination. Therefore, we use the dative im Büro to show where we are located.
Learn Wegen des Regens blieben wir im Büro and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free