Questions & Answers about Wir wohnen im Erdgeschoss.
Why does German use im instead of a word for "on"?
In English, you live "on" a floor, but in German, you are considered to live "in" a storey. Because it is a fixed location answering "where?", the preposition in takes the dative case. The word in plus dem contracts to im.
Why is the dative case used for Erdgeschoss?
in is a two-way preposition. It takes the dative case when describing a stationary location (where something is), and the accusative case when describing movement towards a destination (where something is going). Since living somewhere is a fixed state, we use the dative dem Erdgeschoss.
How do you break down the word Erdgeschoss?
It is a compound noun made of die Erde (the earth or ground) and das Geschoss (the storey or floor). In German compound nouns, the final word determines the gender, making it a neuter noun: das Erdgeschoss.
Is Geschoss the only word for "floor" or "storey"?
No, der Stock and das Stockwerk are also very common words for the floors of a building (such as im ersten Stock for "on the first floor"). However, for the ground floor specifically, das Erdgeschoss is the standard term. You will often see it abbreviated as EG on German elevator buttons.
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