Breakdown of Die Signatur ist weder in dem Ordner noch in dem Register.
sein
to be
in
in
weder ... noch
nor
der Ordner
the folder
die Signatur
the shelfmark
das Register
the index
Questions & Answers about Die Signatur ist weder in dem Ordner noch in dem Register.
How does the weder ... noch structure work here?
weder ... noch is a two-part conjunction meaning 'neither ... nor'. In this sentence, it connects two prepositional phrases: in dem Ordner and in dem Register. The words themselves carry the negative meaning, so you do not need any extra negative words like nicht.
Why does the sentence use in dem instead of contracting it to im?
You could absolutely say im Ordner and im Register. Using in dem instead of the contraction often puts a tiny bit more emphasis on the specific items, sounding a bit like 'in that folder nor in that index'. Keeping them separate is also a common formal choice in written German.
Why are Ordner and Register in the dative case here?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. It takes the accusative case when showing movement to a new place, but the dative case when describing a fixed location. Since the shelfmark is simply located (or not located) in these places, we ask 'Where?' and use the dative: dem Ordner (masculine) and dem Register (neuter).
I thought Signatur meant 'signature'. Why is it translated as 'shelfmark'?
die Signatur can mean a signature on an artwork, but in a library or archive context, it specifically refers to the shelfmark or call number on a book or file. Since this sentence talks about a folder (Ordner) and an index (Register), it is clearly about organizing records. A handwritten signature on a document is more commonly called die Unterschrift.
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