Breakdown of Während der Reise haben wir das alte Stadtviertel besichtigt.
haben
to have
wir
we
alt
old
die Reise
the trip / the journey
besichtigen
to visit (sights), sightsee
während
during
das Stadtviertel
the neighborhood
Questions & Answers about Während der Reise haben wir das alte Stadtviertel besichtigt.
Why is it der Reise if Reise is a feminine noun?
The preposition während (during) requires the Genitive case. For feminine nouns like die Reise, the definite article changes to der in the Genitive.
Why does haben come before wir here?
In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must be in the second position. Since the time phrase Während der Reise takes up the entire first position, the verb haben takes the second, pushing the subject wir to the third position.
Why does the adjective in das alte Stadtviertel end in -e instead of -es?
We use a weak adjective ending here because the definite article das already clearly shows that the noun is neuter and in the accusative case. After a definite article, a neuter accusative adjective just takes an -e.
Why doesn't the past participle besichtigt start with ge- like most past tense verbs?
Verbs that start with an inseparable prefix, like the be- in besichtigen (to visit/sightsee), do not add the ge- prefix in the past participle. They simply keep their normal prefix and add a -t at the end.
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