Der Koffer steht vor der Tür.

Der Koffer steht vor der Tür.
The suitcase stands in front of the door.
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Questions & Answers about Der Koffer steht vor der Tür.

Why is steht used here instead of liegt or ist?

German distinguishes three common verbs for static positions:

  • stehen – “to stand” (upright)
  • liegen – “to lie” (horizontal)
  • sitzen – “to sit”

Saying Der Koffer steht indicates the suitcase is upright on its wheels or standing shape. liegt would imply it’s lying on its side, and ist (to be) is grammatically correct but less precise about its posture.

Why is vor followed by der Tür instead of die Tür?
vor is a two‑way preposition. When you answer wo? (“where?”) and describe a static location, you use the dative case. The dative singular of the feminine die Tür is der Tür.
What case is der Koffer in, and why?
Der Koffer is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the sentence— the element performing the action of the verb steht.
Why is Der capitalized before Koffer but lowercase before Tür in vor der Tür?
  1. At the start of any sentence, the first word is capitalized, so Der begins with a capital D here.
  2. In vor der Tür, der is mid‑sentence and serves as an article, so it’s lowercase.
  3. Tür itself is always capitalized because all German nouns begin with a capital letter.
Could I say Der Koffer ist vor der Tür instead?
You could, but it’s less idiomatic. German prefers stehen over sein when describing something’s standing position. Der Koffer ist vor der Tür is grammatically fine but sounds more neutral, whereas steht gives that extra sense of “standing.”
What’s the difference between vor der Tür and an der Tür?
  • vor der Tür = “in front of the door,” in the space directly before it (still separate).
  • an der Tür = “at the door” or “on the door,” implying contact, right beside or touching the door.
How do I know when vor takes the dative or accusative case?

With two‑way prepositions like vor:

  • Use dative to describe a static location (answering wo? – “where?”).
  • Use accusative to describe movement toward a place (answering wohin? – “where to?”).

Here the suitcase isn’t moving, so we use dative: vor der Tür.

Can I begin the sentence with the prepositional phrase, e.g., Vor der Tür steht der Koffer?

Yes. German main clauses follow the “verb-second” (V2) rule. You can put Vor der Tür first, but the finite verb steht must remain in the second position:
Vor der Tür steht der Koffer.

Does vor always mean “in front of”?

No. vor can be spatial (“in front of”) or temporal (“before,” “ago”). For example:

  • Spatial: Der Koffer steht vor der Tür. (“The suitcase stands in front of the door.”)
  • Temporal: Ich warte vor zwei Stunden. (literally “I’m waiting two hours ago,” better as Ich warte seit zwei Stunden; but vor zwei Stunden can mean “two hours ago” in contexts like Ich bin vor zwei Stunden angekommen – “I arrived two hours ago.”)