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Breakdown of Der Mann läuft schnell im Park.
der Mann
the man
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
schnell
quickly
der Park
the park
laufen
to run
Questions & Answers about Der Mann läuft schnell im Park.
Why is läuft used instead of something else for the verb?
In German, läuft is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb laufen (to run). The subject Der Mann (he) requires this specific conjugation in the present tense.
Why do we say Der Mann and not something else for “the man”?
Because Der Mann is in the nominative case (he is the one performing the action). In German, the article der indicates masculine singular in the nominative case.
Why is schnell placed before im Park instead of after it?
In German, adverbs (such as schnell) often come before prepositional phrases when describing how an action is performed. So the natural word order is Der Mann läuft schnell im Park, rather than Der Mann läuft im Park schnell.
Why is it im Park and not in dem Park?
Im is a contraction of in + dem, which is commonly used in everyday German. Both im Park and in dem Park mean “in the park,” but im Park is the standard, shortened form.
What tense is being used here, and how can I say “The man ran quickly in the park” in German?
The sentence uses the present tense (Präsens). To say “The man ran quickly in the park,” you would use the simple past (Präteritum) or present perfect, such as:
- Der Mann lief schnell im Park (simple past), or
- Der Mann ist schnell im Park gelaufen (present perfect).
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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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