Breakdown of Ich habe Angst, dass das morsche Dach der Ruine einstürzt.
ich
I
Angst haben
to be afraid
dass
that
das Dach
the roof
die Ruine
the ruin
morsch
rotten
einstürzen
to collapse (buildings, structures)
Questions & Answers about Ich habe Angst, dass das morsche Dach der Ruine einstürzt.
Why does the adjective morsche end in -e instead of -es, since Dach is a neuter noun?
Because the definite article das is already doing the heavy lifting by showing the neuter gender. When a definite article precedes an adjective in the nominative case, the adjective takes the weak ending -e. If there were no article, it would take the strong ending and be morsches Dach.
How do we know der Ruine means 'of the ruin' here, rather than being in the dative case?
The verb is einstürzen. Why isn't the separable prefix ein separated here?
Because the verb is inside a subordinate clause introduced by dass. In a regular main clause, the prefix would go to the end, as in Das Dach stürzt ein. But subordinate clauses push the conjugated verb to the very end of the sentence. When the verb meets its prefix at the end, they merge back into one word: einstürzt.
Could I use a different verb instead of Angst haben to sound more advanced at the B2 level?
Yes! A great B2 alternative for fearing that a specific event will happen is the verb befürchten. You could rewrite this sentence as Ich befürchte, dass das morsche Dach der Ruine einstürzt. This sounds a bit more formal and is perfect for expressing apprehension about a future outcome.
Learn Ich habe Angst, dass das morsche Dach der Ruine einstürzt and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free