Word
Die Besprechung beginnt um neun Uhr.
Meaning
The meeting starts at nine o’clock.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Die Besprechung beginnt um neun Uhr.
die Uhr
the clock
beginnen
to begin
um
at
die Besprechung
the meeting
neun
nine
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Questions & Answers about Die Besprechung beginnt um neun Uhr.
Why is Besprechung capitalized?
In German every noun is capitalized. Since Besprechung is a noun (meaning meeting or discussion), it always starts with a capital letter.
What is the gender of Besprechung, and how can I tell?
Besprechung is feminine, so it takes the article die. A handy rule is that most nouns ending in -ung are feminine (for example Zeitung, Entschuldigung, Übersetzung).
Why is um used before neun Uhr? Do I always need it?
To indicate a precise point in time, German uses um plus the accusative form of the time expression. Without um, the phrase “neun Uhr” could still be understood, but standard German requires um for clarity, especially in writing. In very casual speech you might drop it, but in formal contexts you should include um.
Do I have to add Uhr after the number? Can I say um neun instead of um neun Uhr?
You can say um neun in everyday spoken German and everyone understands you mean nine o’clock. In formal writing or schedules, however, it’s typical to include Uhr after the numeral to avoid any ambiguity.
Why does the sentence use beginnt instead of verbs like fängt or startet?
beginnen is the standard German verb for “to begin.” You can also say Die Besprechung fängt um neun Uhr an (using the separable verb anfangen) or Die Besprechung startet um neun Uhr (an Anglicism), but beginnen is neutral and slightly more formal than anfangen.
How is beginnen conjugated in other persons?
Here’s the present‐tense conjugation of beginnen:
• ich beginne
• du beginnst
• er/sie/es beginnt
• wir beginnen
• ihr beginnt
• sie/Sie beginnen
Why is beginnt in the second position of the sentence?
German main clauses follow the “verb‐second” (V2) rule: the finite verb must occupy the second position. Here the first position is the subject Die Besprechung, and the verb beginnt comes next.
Why is there no article before neun Uhr?
Time expressions built with a cardinal number plus Uhr do not require an article in German. You simply say um neun Uhr, not um die neun Uhr or any other form.