Breakdown of Nach dem Blitz kam der Regen.
kommen
to come
der Regen
the rain
nach
after (in time)
der Blitz
the lightning, the flash
Questions & Answers about Nach dem Blitz kam der Regen.
Why is the verb kam placed before the subject der Regen?
German verb-second word order requires the conjugated verb to be the second element in the sentence. Because the phrase Nach dem Blitz takes up the entire first position, the verb kam must come right after it, pushing the subject der Regen to the other side of the verb.
Why is it dem Blitz instead of der Blitz?
The preposition nach always forces the following noun into the dative case. Since Blitz is a masculine noun (der Blitz), its article changes to dem in the dative.
Why didn't we use the word nachdem here?
Nachdem is a conjunction used to introduce a whole new clause with its own subject and verb, like 'after it happened'. Since dem Blitz is just a noun phrase, we must use the preposition nach instead.
What tense is kam?
It is the simple past (Präteritum) of the irregular verb kommen (to come). In everyday spoken German, you will also frequently hear this expressed in the conversational past (Perfekt) tense: Nach dem Blitz ist der Regen gekommen.
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