Breakdown of Das Buch im Geschäft ist billig.
sein
to be
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
das Buch
the book
Questions & Answers about Das Buch im Geschäft ist billig.
Why do we say im instead of in dem in im Geschäft?
im is simply the contraction of in dem. In German, the preposition in plus the definite article dem (dative masculine or neuter) is commonly shortened to im.
What case is Geschäft in, and why?
Geschäft is in the dative case because when in expresses location (wo? – where?), it takes the dative. Hence in dem Geschäft → im Geschäft.
What case is das Buch in, and how can I tell?
das Buch is the nominative case. It’s the subject of the sentence (the thing doing or being something), and German subjects always appear in the nominative.
Why isn’t billig inflected with an ending like attributive adjectives?
Here billig is a predicate adjective following the linking verb ist. Predicate adjectives in German remain in their base form and do not take endings.
Why is the verb ist in the second position?