Das Büro ist im dritten Stock.

to be

Breakdown of Das Büro ist im dritten Stock.

• im: in the; (masculine or neuter)
• das Büro: the office
• dritte: third

Questions & Answers about Das Büro ist im dritten Stock.

Why is it das Büro and not der or die Büro?

Büro is a neuter noun in German, so its basic article is das.

• das Büro = the office

In this sentence, das Büro is the subject, so it stays in the nominative case: Das Büro.

German noun gender is something you usually have to learn together with the noun:

• das Büro
• der Tisch
• die Tür

Why is Büro capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, not just ones at the beginning of a sentence.

So:

• das Büro
• der Stock
• die Stadt

This is one of the most noticeable spelling differences from English.

What does im mean here?

im is a contraction of in dem.

• in dem → im

So:

• im dritten Stock literally comes from in dem dritten Stock

This contraction is very common and sounds more natural than the full form in everyday German.

Why is it dritten and not dritte?