Breakdown of Wir bewundern den Wert einer langen Tradition.
ein
a, an (eine)
wir
we
lang
long
bewundern
to admire
der Wert
the value
die Tradition
the tradition
Questions & Answers about Wir bewundern den Wert einer langen Tradition.
Why does the adjective langen end in -en here?
Tradition is a feminine noun, and here it is in the genitive case to express "of a long tradition". After an indefinite article like einer in the genitive case, the following adjective always takes the ending -en. In fact, whenever there is any article before a genitive noun, the adjective will end in -en regardless of the noun's gender.
Why doesn't the noun Tradition get an -s ending in the genitive case?
Only masculine and neuter nouns add an -s or -es to the end of the word in the genitive case. Because die Tradition is feminine, the noun itself doesn't change. The genitive case is shown entirely by the changes to the article (einer) and the adjective (langen).
Why do we use den Wert instead of der Wert?
The verb bewundern (to admire) takes a direct object, which must be in the accusative case. Since Wert is a masculine noun (der Wert), its article changes to den in the accusative.
Could I say von einer langen Tradition instead?
Yes, using von plus the dative case (von einer langen Tradition) is a common alternative, especially in casual spoken German. However, using the genitive case immediately after the noun is the standard, more elegant way to express "of a..." in written German, which is highly encouraged at the B1 level.
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