Die Lampe leuchtet am Eingang.

The lamp shines at the entrance.

Breakdown of Die Lampe leuchtet am Eingang.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• leuchten: to shine
• an: at
• die Lampe: the lamp
• der Eingang: the entrance

Questions & Answers about Die Lampe leuchtet am Eingang.

Why is Die Lampe in the nominative case?

Because Die Lampe is the subject of the sentence. In German, the subject always takes the nominative case. Here, Lampe is the noun doing the “shining,” so its article die is the feminine nominative singular form.

Why do we use die for Lampe, and what other forms could this article take?

die is the feminine definite article in the nominative singular. The full paradigm for “the” in German is:

• Masculine: der (Nom.), den (Acc.), dem (Dat.)
• Feminine: die (Nom. & Acc.), der (Dat.)
• Neuter: das (Nom. & Acc.), dem (Dat.)
• Plural: die (Nom. & Acc.), den (Dat.)

Since Lampe is feminine and the subject, you choose die.

What kind of verb is leuchten, and how is leuchtet formed?

leuchten is a regular (weak) intransitive verb meaning “to shine” or “to give light.” To form the third‐person singular present tense, you:

1. Take the stem leucht-.
2. Add the ending -et (because stems ending in -t or -d take -et instead of just -t).
   Result: leuchtet.

What does am Eingang mean, and why is Eingang in the dative?

am Eingang means “at the entrance.” Here’s why it’s dative:

• an is a two‐way (Wechsel) preposition.
• When it indicates location (Wo? – where?), it takes the dative case.
• The dative singular of der Eingang is dem Eingang.
• an + dem = am (see next question).

What exactly does the contraction am stand for?

am is the combined form of an dem. In German, certain preposition + definite article pairs merge:

• an + dem → am
• in + dem → im
• von + dem → vom
  … and so on.

Why does the verb leuchtet appear in the second position in the sentence?

German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) word order rule. That means the finite verb must occupy the second “slot” regardless of what comes first:
1st slot: any single element (subject, adverbial, object, etc.)
2nd slot: finite verb (leuchtet)
Remaining slots: other sentence elements (subject if it didn’t come first, adverbials, objects).

Can I start the sentence with Am Eingang? How does that affect word order?

Yes. If you put Am Eingang first (for emphasis or style), the verb still stays in position two and the subject moves after it:
Am Eingang leuchtet die Lampe.
Here Am Eingang (1st slot), leuchtet (2nd slot), die Lampe (3rd slot).

How would I turn this statement into a yes/no question?

Move the finite verb to the first position and follow with the subject:
Leuchtet die Lampe am Eingang?
(“Is the lamp shining at the entrance?”)

How do I change the sentence into the simple past tense (Präteritum)?

For weak verbs like leuchten, replace -et with -ete:
Die Lampe leuchtete am Eingang.
If you prefer Perfekt (conversational past), use:
Die Lampe hat am Eingang geleuchtet.

What’s the pronunciation of Lampe and leuchtet?

Approximate in English phonetics:

• Lampe: [LAHM‑puh] (the “a” like in “father,” final “e” like a quick “uh”)
• leuchtet: [LOYKH‑tut] (“eu” = “oy,” “ch” like in “Bach,” final “e” again a short “uh”)