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Questions & Answers about Das Haus nebenan ist alt.
What case is das Haus in, and how can you tell?
It’s in the nominative case because das Haus is the subject of the sentence. In German, subjects always take the nominative.
Why is the article das used with Haus instead of der or die?
Haus is a neuter noun in German, so its definite article in the nominative singular is das.
What part of speech is nebenan, and what does it translate to?
nebenan is an adverb (specifically a spatial or prepositional adverb) meaning next door or adjacent. Here it specifies which house we’re talking about.
Why is nebenan written as a single word rather than neben an or neben-an?
Although it originates from the combination of neben + an, in modern German nebenan is treated as one fixed adverb and must be written as a single word without a hyphen or space.
Why does nebenan follow the noun Haus instead of preceding it like an adjective?
Because nebenan is an adverb, not an adjective. Adverbs can’t be used attributively before a noun. To express “the house next door,” you place the adverb after the noun: das Haus nebenan.
Why isn’t the adjective alt declined (e.g., altes or alte) here?
After the linking verb sein, adjectives are used predicatively and remain in their base form. Therefore you say ist alt, not ist altes or ist alte.
How would you pronounce nebenan, and where does the stress fall?
It’s pronounced [ˈneːbənaːn], with the primary stress on the first syllable: NE‑ben‑an.