Breakdown of Wir nehmen eine Büroklammer statt einer Schraube.
ein
a, an (eine)
wir
we
nehmen
to take
statt
instead of
Questions & Answers about Wir nehmen eine Büroklammer statt einer Schraube.
Why is it einer Schraube instead of eine Schraube?
The preposition statt (instead of) requires the genitive case. Because Schraube is a feminine noun, its indefinite article changes from eine to einer in the genitive.
Why doesn't Büroklammer also change to einer?
The two nouns are in different cases because of their roles in the sentence. Büroklammer is the direct object of the verb nehmen (to take), so it takes the accusative case, where the feminine article remains eine. Only Schraube is affected by the preposition statt, which forces it into the genitive case.
Is there a difference between using statt and anstatt in this sentence?
No difference at all! statt is just a shorter version of anstatt. You could easily say anstatt einer Schraube here, and the meaning and grammar (both trigger the genitive case) would be exactly the same.
How do we know the gender for a compound word like Büroklammer?
In German compound nouns, the very last word always decides the gender. This word combines das Büro (office) and die Klammer (clip or peg). Since Klammer is feminine, the combined word die Büroklammer is also feminine.