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Breakdown of Die Fenster im Haus sind groß und die Tür ist neu.
sein
to be
und
and
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
das Haus
the house
neu
new
groß
big
das Fenster
the window
die Tür
the door
Questions & Answers about Die Fenster im Haus sind groß und die Tür ist neu.
Why is die used for both Fenster and Tür?
In German, Fenster is actually neuter in the singular, so you would say das Fenster. However, when talking about multiple windows (Fenster in the plural), the article changes to die, because all plural nouns take die in German. In contrast, Tür is singular and feminine, so it uses die because that is the standard feminine article in German.
What does im mean in this sentence?
im is a contraction of in dem. The phrase in dem can mean in the when referring to a masculine or neuter noun in the dative case. Here, Haus is neuter (singular), so im Haus literally translates to in the house.
Why is it sind for Fenster but ist for Tür?
Fenster here is plural (even though the word ends in -er), so it requires a plural verb form, which is sind in German. Since Tür is singular, it takes the singular verb form ist.
Which grammatical case is used for im Haus, and why?
Haus is in the dative case because the preposition in can be followed by either accusative or dative, depending on whether there is a sense of movement (accusative) or location (dative). In this sentence, the windows are simply located inside the house, so in governs the dative, and in dem Haus becomes im Haus.
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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