Breakdown of Er sitzt seit zwei Jahren im Gefängnis.
in
in
zwei
two
das Jahr
the year
seit
since, for (time)
sitzen
to sit
das Gefängnis
the prison
Questions & Answers about Er sitzt seit zwei Jahren im Gefängnis.
Why is the present tense sitzt used here when the English translation says has been?
When an action started in the past and is still ongoing, German uses the present tense combined with seit. English uses the present perfect. If you used a past tense in German here, it would imply he is no longer in prison.
Why does the sentence use sitzt instead of ist?
While you can say Er ist im Gefängnis, using sitzen is a very common idiom in German for doing time in prison. It paints a picture of someone literally sitting in their cell.
Why is it Jahren and not just Jahre?
The preposition seit always forces the following noun into the dative case. The plural of Jahr is Jahre, but in the dative plural, German adds an extra -n to nouns that do not already end in -n or -s.
Why do we use im Gefängnis rather than ins Gefängnis?
The word im is short for in dem, which is the dative case. We use the dative here because the sentence describes a static location (where he is) rather than a movement towards a destination. If he were being sent to prison, you would use the accusative ins, which is short for in das.
Learn Er sitzt seit zwei Jahren im Gefängnis 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