Breakdown of Falls du in der Stadt ein Auto mieten möchtest, schicke ich dir die Adresse des Verleihs.
in
in
das Auto
the car
ich
I
du
you
die Stadt
the city
möchten
would like to
dir
you
schicken
to send
falls
if
der
the; (feminine, dative)
die Adresse
the address
mieten
to rent
der Verleih
the rental place
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Questions & Answers about Falls du in der Stadt ein Auto mieten möchtest, schicke ich dir die Adresse des Verleihs.
What does falls mean in this sentence, and can I use wenn instead?
falls translates as “in case” or “if”, introducing a possible condition. It’s slightly more formal or cautious than wenn, but for real conditions you can often swap them without changing the meaning:
Wenn du in der Stadt ein Auto mieten möchtest, schicke ich dir die Adresse des Verleihs.
Why is the word order ein Auto mieten möchtest instead of möchtest ein Auto mieten?
Because falls du … möchtest is a subordinate clause (a Nebensatz). In German subordinate clauses the finite verb (here möchtest) moves to the very end. When there’s also an infinitive (mieten), that goes immediately before the finite verb: ein Auto mieten möchtest.
Why does the main clause start with the verb schicke, and why does ich come after it?
In main clauses the finite verb normally occupies the second position. The entire subordinate clause fallst du … möchtest counts as the first “slot.” Therefore, in the main clause the verb schicke appears right after the comma (as position two), and the subject ich follows in position three.
Why is in der Stadt in the dative case here?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. It takes accusative when indicating motion into somewhere, but dative when indicating location in somewhere. Since you’re renting in the city (a static location), you use dative: der Stadt.
What case is die Adresse des Verleihs, and why do we use des Verleihs?
die Adresse is the direct object (accusative). des Verleihs is the genitive singular of der Verleih, expressing “the address of the rental company.” Both -s and older -es endings are possible (des Verleihs/Verleihes), but modern usage prefers -s.
Can I say Adresse vom Verleih instead of Adresse des Verleihs?
Yes. You can replace the genitive with von + dative: Adresse vom Verleih (short for von dem Verleih) is perfectly correct and slightly more colloquial.
Why do we say ein Auto instead of just Auto?
German normally requires an article with singular countable nouns. Auto is neuter, so the indefinite article ein is needed in nominative/accusative singular.
Could I use Autovermietung instead of Verleih here?
Yes. Autovermietung specifically means “car rental,” and you’ll often see Autoverleih as well. Verleih alone is more generic (“rental service”), so adding Auto makes it clear you mean a car rental.