Learn German: Beim Tierarzt hatte der kranke Patient schreckliche Angst. - The sick patient was terribly afraid at the vet.

Beim Tierarzt hatte der kranke Patient schreckliche Angst.

The sick patient was terribly afraid at the vet.

Breakdown of Beim Tierarzt hatte der kranke Patient schreckliche Angst.

Questions & Answers about Beim Tierarzt hatte der kranke Patient schreckliche Angst.

Why do we use beim Tierarzt instead of something like im Tierarzt to say 'at the vet'?

In German, when you talk about being at a professional's workplace or someone's home (like a doctor, vet, or friend), you use the preposition bei plus the dative case. Since Tierarzt is masculine, it becomes bei dem, which contracts to beim.

The English translation says 'terribly afraid' (adverb + adjective). Why does the German sentence use schreckliche Angst (adjective + noun)?

While English often expresses feelings with the verb 'to be' plus an adjective (to be afraid, to be thirsty), German frequently uses the verb haben (to have) plus a noun (Angst, meaning fear). Because Angst is a noun, the word describing it must be an adjective (schreckliche), so it literally translates to 'had terrible fear'.

Let's review the adjective endings. Why do both adjectives end in -e in der kranke Patient and schreckliche Angst?

They end in -e for different reasons. Patient is a masculine noun in the nominative case. Because it follows the definite article der, the adjective takes the weak ending -e (der kranke). Angst is a feminine noun in the accusative case. Since there is no article before it, the adjective takes the strong ending for feminine accusative, which is also -e (schreckliche).