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Breakdown of Ein Wintertag ist kalt und ruhig.
sein
to be
und
and
ruhig
quiet
kalt
cold
der Wintertag
the winter day
Questions & Answers about Ein Wintertag ist kalt und ruhig.
Why is the article ein used before Wintertag instead of eine or einen?
Because Wintertag is a masculine noun in the nominative singular. The indefinite article for masculine nominative is ein. eine would be feminine, einen is masculine accusative.
Which case and function does ein Wintertag have in this sentence?
It’s in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the sentence. The subject is what the verb ist (“to be”) refers to.
Why is Wintertag written as one word?
German often forms compound nouns by combining two words into one. Here Winter + Tag → Wintertag.
Why is Wintertag capitalized?
All German nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence.
Why are the adjectives kalt and ruhig not inflected (no endings like -er, -es)?
When adjectives follow a linking verb like sein (“to be”) and describe the subject, they’re used predicatively and remain uninflected.
Why is there no comma between kalt and ruhig?
When two adjectives are joined by the conjunction und (“and”), German does not require a comma between them.
What role does und play in this sentence?
Und is a coordinating conjunction that links the two adjectives kalt and ruhig, functioning just like “and” in English.
Why is the verb ist used here?
Ist is the third‑person singular present form of sein (“to be”). It connects the subject (ein Wintertag) with its description (kalt und ruhig).
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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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