Die Sonne scheint hell über dem Fluss.

the; (masculine or neuter, dative)

Breakdown of Die Sonne scheint hell über dem Fluss.

• die Sonne: the sun
• hell: bright
• der Fluss: the river

Questions & Answers about Die Sonne scheint hell über dem Fluss.

Why does der Fluss change to dem Fluss in this sentence?

In German, certain prepositions require specific cases. The preposition über here indicates a location (where something is happening), and it’s combined with the dative case. dem Fluss is the dative form of der Fluss.

Could I have used “über den Fluss” instead?

Yes, if there was movement across or over the river (for instance, Der Vogel fliegt über den Fluss – “The bird is flying over the river”), über would be followed by the accusative (den). In the sentence Die Sonne scheint hell über dem Fluss, there is no movement, just a location, so the dative (dem) is correct.

What does hell mean here, and can I replace it with another word?

hell means “bright” in this context and describes how the sun is shining. If you want a synonym, you could say something like klar (clear), but hell is the most common choice to describe bright sunlight.

How is scheint conjugated?