Ich kaufe am Automaten eine Fahrkarte.

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Breakdown of Ich kaufe am Automaten eine Fahrkarte.

• kaufen: to buy
• eine: a
• die Fahrkarte: the train ticket

Questions & Answers about Ich kaufe am Automaten eine Fahrkarte.

What does am mean in am Automaten?

Am is a contraction of an dem.

• an = a preposition
• dem = the in the dative case for masculine/neuter singular nouns

So:

• an dem Automaten → am Automaten

In this sentence, am Automaten means something like at the machine or from the ticket machine, depending on context.

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Why is it Automaten and not Automat?

Because Automat is one of those masculine nouns that take -en in most forms except the nominative singular.

Its forms are:

• der Automat = nominative
• des Automaten = genitive
• dem Automaten = dative
• den Automaten = accusative

Since am = an dem, the noun after it is in the dative, so you get:

• am Automaten

This is something learners often need to memorize with the noun:

• der Automat, des Automaten

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Why is eine Fahrkarte in the accusative case?