Breakdown of An der Tankstelle war das Benzin teuer.
sein
to be
teuer
expensive
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
das Benzin
the petrol / the gas
Questions & Answers about An der Tankstelle war das Benzin teuer.
Why is the verb war before the subject das Benzin?
In German main clauses, the verb must always be in the second position. Because the sentence starts with the location phrase An der Tankstelle (position one), the verb war takes position two, pushing the subject das Benzin right after it.
Why do we use the preposition an here instead of in or bei for 'at'?
The preposition an is typically used for locations that are a point of service, a boundary, or an edge. For places like die Tankstelle (the petrol station) or die Kasse (the checkout), an is the standard preposition to say you are 'at' them.
Since Tankstelle is a feminine noun, why does it use the article der here?
The word an is a two-way preposition. Because this sentence describes a fixed location (where the petrol was) rather than movement towards a destination, an requires the dative case. In the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der.
Can I just use the word Gas instead of Benzin?