Breakdown of Der internationale Zug fährt pünktlich.
der Zug
the train
pünktlich
on time
international
international
fahren
to run
Questions & Answers about Der internationale Zug fährt pünktlich.
Why is Der used instead of Ein at the beginning?
Der is the definite article for masculine singular nouns in the nominative case. We use Der because we’re talking about a specific train (“the international train”). If we wanted to say “an international train” (nonspecific), we would use Ein and adjust the adjective accordingly: Ein internationaler Zug fährt pünktlich.
Why does internationale end with ‑e instead of ‑er?
German adjectives take different endings depending on the article and case (this is called adjective declension). After the definite article der in the nominative masculine singular, adjectives use the weak ending ‑e. Hence der internationale Zug. With ein, you’d get the strong ending ‑er: ein internationaler Zug.
Why is Zug capitalized but internationale and pünktlich are not?
In German, all nouns are capitalized—Zug (train) is a noun. Adjectives (internationale) and adverbs (pünktlich) remain lowercase.
Why is the verb fährt in the second position and not at the end of the sentence?