Breakdown of Seitdem der Bekannte in der Botschaft ist, ist er nervös.
sein
to be
er
he
in
in
nervös
nervous
seitdem
since
die Botschaft
the embassy
der Bekannte
the acquaintance
Questions & Answers about Seitdem der Bekannte in der Botschaft ist, ist er nervös.
Why is the word for the acquaintance der Bekannte with an -e at the end?
Bekannte is a nominalized participle, meaning it is a verb form acting as a noun. Because of this, it changes its ending based on standard adjective declension rules rather than normal noun rules. Here, it is the masculine subject of the sentence (nominative case) and comes after the definite article der, so it takes the weak ending -e. If the sentence used an indefinite article, it would be ein Bekannter.
What is the difference between seit and seitdem? Could I just use seit here?
Seit is a preposition used before a noun phrase (like seit einem Jahr), while seitdem is a subordinating conjunction used to introduce a full clause that has its own subject and conjugated verb. Because the first part of this sentence is a full clause, you must use seitdem, which pushes its verb (ist) to the very end of that clause.
Why are there two ists right next to each other separated by a comma?
This happens because of the strict verb-second rule in German main clauses. The entire first part of the sentence (Seitdem der Bekannte in der Botschaft ist) acts as the first block of information. To keep the main verb in the second position overall, the second part of the sentence must start immediately with its verb (ist), followed by the subject (er).
Why does the sentence say in der Botschaft? Isn't Botschaft a feminine noun?
Yes, die Botschaft is feminine. However, in is a two-way preposition. Because the acquaintance is in a static location at the embassy (answering the question where? or wo?), in triggers the dative case here. The feminine dative form of die is der.
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