Breakdown of Im Jahr 1927 ist der Pilot durch den Sturm geflogen.
sein
to be
das Jahr
the year
fliegen
to fly
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
der Sturm
the storm
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
durch
through
der Pilot
the pilot (m)
Questions & Answers about Im Jahr 1927 ist der Pilot durch den Sturm geflogen.
Why is it Im Jahr 1927? Can I just say in 1927 like I would in English?
No, saying in 1927 is a very common mistake for English speakers! In German, you cannot use the preposition in directly before a year. You have two correct options: either use the phrase im Jahr (or im Jahre) right before the number, or just say the number entirely by itself without any preposition (for example: 1927 ist der Pilot...).
Why does the sentence use ist instead of hat for the past tense here?
The verb fliegen (to fly) expresses a change of location, moving from one place to another. In spoken past tense (Perfekt), verbs of motion always use a form of sein (to be) as their helping verb rather than haben (to have). Therefore, it is ist... geflogen.
Why is it durch den Sturm instead of durch dem Sturm?
The preposition durch (through) always requires the accusative case, no matter the context. Because Sturm is a masculine noun (der Sturm), the article changes to the masculine accusative form, den.
If I decide to drop the words Im Jahr and just start with the number, how does that affect the word order?
The word order stays exactly the same! In a standard German main clause, the conjugated verb must be in the second position. If you start with the year, the year takes up position 1. So you would say: 1927 ist der Pilot durch den Sturm geflogen.
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