Breakdown of Der Besucher wartet am Eingang.
warten
to wait
an
at
der Eingang
the entrance
der Besucher
the visitor
Questions & Answers about Der Besucher wartet am Eingang.
Why is the article der used with Besucher?
Because Besucher is a masculine noun here and it functions as the subject of the sentence. In German, the definite article for a masculine singular noun in the nominative case is der, so der Besucher means “the visitor.”
Why does Besucher appear in the nominative case?
In German, the noun that performs the action of the verb (the subject) takes the nominative case. Since der Besucher is doing the waiting, it must be nominative.
Why is there no direct object for the verb warten?
Here warten is used intransitively to describe someone waiting at a place. If you wanted to say “wait for someone,” you would use the preposition auf plus the accusative (e.g., auf den Besucher warten).
How does am Eingang mean “at the entrance,” and why isn’t it written an dem Eingang?
am is a contraction of an dem. The preposition an (meaning “at” or “on” when describing location) takes the dative case in this context. So an + dem Eingang (dative) becomes am Eingang.
Why is Eingang in the dative case?