Breakdown of Die Lampe leuchtet am Eingang.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
leuchten
to shine
an
at
die Lampe
the lamp
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?