Breakdown of Alle Studenten haben Zugang, außer meinem Bruder.
haben
to have
alle
all, everyone
mein
my
der Bruder
the brother
der Student
the university student
außer
except
der Zugang
the access
Questions & Answers about Alle Studenten haben Zugang, außer meinem Bruder.
Why is it meinem Bruder instead of mein Bruder?
The preposition außer (except) always requires the dative case. Since Bruder is a masculine noun (der Bruder), the possessive word mein must change to its dative masculine form, which is meinem.
Why does Studenten end in -en?
Here, Studenten is simply the plural form of der Student. However, it is a great time to recall that Student is a weak noun (often called an n-noun). This means it takes an -en ending in almost all grammatical cases, even in the singular, except when it is the nominative subject. In this sentence, Alle Studenten is the plural subject.
Why is there a comma before außer?
When an außer phrase is tacked onto the end of a complete sentence to express an exception, German usually separates it with a comma. It acts as a pause that emphasizes the exclusion and clarifies the sentence structure.
Does außer only mean except?
Not quite! While it clearly means except in this sentence, it can also mean besides or in addition to depending on the broader context. You will also see it used to mean out of in fixed phrases like außer Betrieb (out of order) or außer Atem (out of breath).
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