Der Tisch steht vor dem Fenster.

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Breakdown of Der Tisch steht vor dem Fenster.

• der Tisch: the table
• stehen: to stand
• das Fenster: the window
• vor: in front of

Questions & Answers about Der Tisch steht vor dem Fenster.

Why is it der Tisch instead of den Tisch in the sentence?

In German, der Tisch is in the nominative case because Tisch is the subject of the sentence—the thing performing the action of standing (steht). We would use den Tisch only if Tisch were a direct object in the accusative case (e.g., Ich sehe den Tisch).

Why do we say steht instead of ist?

In German, stehen often means “to be located in an upright position.” If you say der Tisch ist vor dem Fenster, that would still be grammatically acceptable, but steht emphasizes that the table is placed there in a standing position, which is more precise.

Why is it vor dem Fenster and not vor das Fenster?

The preposition vor can take either the accusative or the dative case. When there is movement toward a location, we typically use the accusative. When indicating a fixed location (no movement), we use the dative. In this sentence, the table is already in position in front of the window, so it’s vor dem Fenster (dative).

Why do we see dem instead of das before Fenster?

Fenster is a neuter noun (the base form is das Fenster). In the dative case, das changes to dem. Therefore, we get dem Fenster in the phrase vor dem Fenster.

Do we need a different word order in German than in English?

Although word order in German can be more flexible than in English, this sentence follows a typical subject–verb–adverbial order: Der Tisch (subject) steht (verb) vor dem Fenster (adverbial phrase). This is perfectly natural in German and conveys clearly where the table is located.