Breakdown of Wir kriechen leise entlang des dunklen Schachts in das Gewölbe.
in
in
wir
we
leise
quiet / quietly
dunkel
dark
entlang
along
kriechen
to crawl
der Schacht
the shaft
das Gewölbe
the vault
Questions & Answers about Wir kriechen leise entlang des dunklen Schachts in das Gewölbe.
Why is the genitive case used here (des dunklen Schachts) with entlang? I thought entlang takes the accusative.
The case depends on where you put the preposition! If entlang comes after the noun, it takes the accusative (e.g., den dunklen Schacht entlang). But when it is placed before the noun, as in this sentence, it requires either the genitive (as seen here with des ... Schachts) or the dative case.
Could I use the dative case instead of the genitive after entlang here?
Why does the adjective dunklen end in -en?
This is an example of weak adjective declension. The article des already clearly shows that the noun is masculine and in the genitive case. Because the article does the heavy lifting of showing the case and gender, the adjective just takes the standard weak ending -en.
Why does the sentence use the accusative in das Gewölbe instead of the dative in dem Gewölbe?
in is a two-way preposition. Because the subjects are actively moving from one place into a new destination (crawling into the vault), we must use the accusative case. If they were already inside the vault and just crawling around within its walls, you would use the dative case to show a fixed location.
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