Breakdown of Jeder tanzt im Park.
tanzen
to dance
der Park
the park
im
in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
jeder
everyone
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Questions & Answers about Jeder tanzt im Park.
What does the sentence Jeder tanzt im Park mean?
It means "Everyone dances in the park." Although the overall meaning is known, note that "Jeder" literally stands for “each one” or “every person,” implying that each individual in the group is dancing.
Why is the verb tanzt in its singular form even though the idea involves multiple people?
In German, "Jeder" is grammatically singular even though it refers to all people individually. Since it is treated as a singular subject, the verb is conjugated accordingly as tanzt (third person singular).
What is the role of the contraction im in the phrase im Park?
The contraction im combines in and dem. It indicates a location by using the dative case with a masculine or neuter noun. In this sentence, im Park means "in the park" and shows where the dancing is happening.
Which grammatical case is used with Park in this sentence and why?
Park is in the dative case because the preposition in is used here to indicate a static location (i.e., where the action takes place) rather than a direction of movement. That’s why in dem Park is contracted to im Park.
How is the verb tanzen conjugated in this sentence?
The verb tanzen (to dance) is conjugated as tanzt in the third person singular to agree with the singular subject Jeder. In simple present tense, you would have: ich tanze, du tanzt, er/sie/es tanzt.
What is the difference between using jeder and alle, and could they be used interchangeably here?
While both jeder (each one/everyone) and alle (all) can often be translated as "everyone," they slightly differ in nuance. Jeder emphasizes individuals within the group and is singular (thus requiring a singular verb), whereas alle treats the group as a whole and uses a plural verb form. So, if you switch to alle, the sentence would become "Alle tanzen im Park".