Breakdown of Was für ein Tier lebt diesseits des Hanges?
das Tier
the animal
was für ein
what kind of
leben
to live/reside (in a place)
diesseits
on this side of the
der Hang
the slope / the hillside
Questions & Answers about Was für ein Tier lebt diesseits des Hanges?
Why do we use des Hanges in this sentence?
The preposition diesseits (on this side of) requires the genitive case. Since der Hang (the slope) is a masculine noun, its genitive form becomes des Hanges.
Could I write des Hangs instead of des Hanges?
Why doesn't the word ein in the phrase was für ein have a case ending here?
The word ein in the fixed question structure was für ein (what kind of) declines to match the case and gender of the noun it is attached to. Because the animal is the subject of the sentence, Tier is in the nominative case. Since it is a neuter noun, the correct nominative form is just ein.
Is diesseits commonly used in everyday spoken German?
It is perfectly understood, but it belongs to a slightly more formal or literary register. In a very casual conversation, a native speaker might instead say auf dieser Seite des Hanges to mean the exact same thing.
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