Breakdown of Das Auto von Anna ist neu.
sein
to be
das Auto
the car
neu
new
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
Questions & Answers about Das Auto von Anna ist neu.
Why do we say von Anna instead of just Annas Auto like in English?
Both are actually correct! You can say Annas Auto (Anna's car), which is very common. Using von + name (literally "the car of Anna") is another extremely common way to show possession in spoken German, especially as an alternative to the genitive case.
Does von always take the dative case?
Yes, the preposition von always requires the dative case. Since Anna is a name, its form doesn't change here, but if it were "the teacher's car", you would see the dative change: das Auto von dem Lehrer.
Why doesn't the word neu have an ending like neues here?
Adjectives only get endings (like -es or -e) when they come directly before a noun, as in ein neues Auto (a new car). When the adjective comes after the noun and the verb ist (is), it stays in its basic, unchanged form: Das Auto ist neu.