Breakdown of An der Kreuzung entscheidet er sich für einen stillen Weg ohne Verkehr zurück zum Dorf.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
zu
to
er
he
an
at
der Weg
the path
still
quiet
ohne
without
das Dorf
the village
die Kreuzung
the intersection
sich entscheiden für
to decide on
der Verkehr
the traffic
zurück
back
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Questions & Answers about An der Kreuzung entscheidet er sich für einen stillen Weg ohne Verkehr zurück zum Dorf.
Why is An der Kreuzung in the dative case rather than the accusative?
The preposition an is a two‑way (Wechsel) preposition that can take either accusative or dative. You use the accusative to express motion toward something, and the dative to express location or position. Here, An der Kreuzung answers “where?” (location = at the intersection), so it takes the dative: der Kreuzung.
What does entscheidet er sich mean, and why is the verb reflexive?
The verb sich entscheiden means “to decide.” It’s reflexive in German, so you always need the reflexive pronoun sich (matching the subject: er entscheidet sich). The word order “entscheidet er sich” follows the typical pattern of a main clause in German: verb in second position (“entscheidet”), then subject (“er”), then the reflexive pronoun (“sich”).
Why is für einen stillen Weg in the accusative case?
The preposition für always governs the accusative case. That’s why ein becomes einen, and the adjective still takes the appropriate ending for masculine accusative.
Why does stillen end with “-en” in einen stillen Weg?
After an indefinite article (einen) with a masculine noun in the accusative, adjectives take the weak declension ending -en. So still becomes stillen to agree with einen Weg (masculine accusative).
Why is there no article before Verkehr in ohne Verkehr?
The preposition ohne (“without”) also requires the accusative case. You can leave out the article when speaking generally (“without traffic” in general). If you wanted to refer to specific traffic, you’d say ohne den Verkehr (“without the traffic”). Here, the meaning is general, so no article is used.
What case does ohne require, and how would you recognize it?
ohne always takes the accusative. You recognize it because it answers “without what?” (Wen oder was?). Check the noun form: Verkehr stays unchanged (no article), but if it had an article, it would be the accusative form.
What is the structure and meaning of zurück zum Dorf, and why is zum a contraction?
- zurück is an adverb meaning “back.” In German, such directional adverbs often appear near the end of the sentence.
- zum is a contraction of zu dem. The preposition zu requires the dative, so dem Dorf becomes zum Dorf.
Together zurück zum Dorf means “back to the village.”
Why is there no comma in this sentence?
German commas are used to separate main clauses, subordinate clauses, infinitive constructions, lists, etc. Here we have one main clause with a series of prepositional and adverbial phrases. There’s no subordinate clause or list, so no comma is needed.