Breakdown of Die Feier beginnt in zwanzig Minuten.
in
in
die Feier
the celebration
beginnen
to begin
zwanzig
twenty
Questions & Answers about Die Feier beginnt in zwanzig Minuten.
Why is Feier preceded by die? Is Feier always feminine?
In German, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Feier is a feminine noun, so its nominative singular article is die. Yes, Feier always remains feminine, so you always use die Feier in the singular.
What grammatical case does in zwanzig Minuten use, and why isn't it dative?
Time expressions that indicate a point in the future use in + accusative in German. Here’s why:
- in can govern dative for location (e.g., in Berlin).
- For future time references, however, in takes the accusative (e.g., in zwanzig Minuten = "in twenty minutes").
Thus, zwanzig Minuten is in the accusative case.
Why are there no articles before zwanzig Minuten?
When you use a numeral as a quantifier, the numeral replaces the article. Since zwanzig (twenty) indicates quantity, you say zwanzig Minuten, not die zwanzig Minuten or den zwanzig Minuten.
Why is beginnt in the second position and not at the end of the sentence?