……
Breakdown of Der Weg im Park ist schmal.
sein
to be
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
der Park
the park
der Weg
the path
schmal
narrow
Questions & Answers about Der Weg im Park ist schmal.
Why is der used before Weg?
Weg is a masculine noun in German. When a singular masculine noun functions as the subject in the nominative case, it takes the article der.
What does im Park mean, and why isn’t it in den Park?
Im is a contraction of in dem. Because Park is a masculine noun, the dative singular article is dem.
- in dem Park → im Park
We use the dative case here because the preposition in describes the location (“where?”), not movement (“into”).
Why is the adjective schmal not ending in -e or -er?
Here schmal is a predicate adjective, coming after the verb ist (to be). Predicate adjectives in German remain in their base form and are not declined. If the adjective were attributive (directly before the noun), you would see an ending:
- Attributive: der schmale Weg
- Predicative: Der Weg … ist schmal.
Could I say Ein schmaler Weg im Park ist instead?
You could say Ein schmaler Weg im Park ist …, but the meaning shifts: you’d be introducing “a narrow path in the park” rather than stating “the path in the park is narrow.” Also, attributive adjectives like schmaler get an -er ending after the indefinite article ein.
Why is the order Weg im Park instead of im Park Weg?
German places the noun (Weg) first and then its modifying phrase (im Park). This follows the typical pattern:
- Noun phrase (with any articles/adjectives)
- Prepositional phrase giving extra detail
- Verb
- Additional complements
Can I replace schmal with another adjective like eng?
Yes. eng also means “narrow,” especially for spaces or openings. You could say Der Weg im Park ist eng. The grammar stays the same; only the adjective changes.
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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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