Breakdown of Sie glaubt weder an Gott noch an den Teufel.
glauben
to believe
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
der Gott
the god, God
weder ... noch
nor
Questions & Answers about Sie glaubt weder an Gott noch an den Teufel.
How does the structure weder ... noch work here?
weder ... noch is a two-part conjunction that translates to "neither ... nor". It is used to negate two options at once. Notice how it is placed directly before the two contrasting prepositional phrases to balance them: weder an Gott and noch an den Teufel.
Why do we use the preposition an with the verb glauben?
When glauben means "to believe in" (such as acknowledging the existence of someone or something), it requires the preposition an. The preposition is repeated before both nouns to keep the sentence structure parallel and clear.
Why is it den Teufel instead of der Teufel?
The preposition an is a two-way preposition, and when it is used abstractly with the verb glauben, it always takes the accusative case. Because Teufel is a masculine noun, the article changes to the accusative form den.
Why doesn't Gott have an article like Teufel does?
In German, the word Gott (God) in a monotheistic context is treated like a proper name, so it is used without an article. Conversely, der Teufel (the devil) acts as a regular noun and therefore requires a definite article.