Breakdown of Die Patientin liegt auf der Station.
auf
on
die Patientin
the patient (female)
liegen
to lie (be located)
die Station
the station; ward
Questions & Answers about Die Patientin liegt auf der Station.
Why is it die Patientin and not der Patient?
Patientin means female patient. German often uses different noun forms for men and women:
- der Patient = male patient
- die Patientin = female patient
So if the person is a woman, Patientin is the natural choice.
The article changes too:
- der Patient
- die Patientin
In this sentence, die Patientin is the subject.
What does the ending -in in Patientin do?
The ending -in is a very common way to make a noun feminine in German.
Examples:
- der Arzt → die Ärztin
- der Lehrer → die Lehrerin
- der Patient → die Patientin
So Patientin is simply the feminine form of Patient.
Why is the verb liegt used here instead of ist?