Der Besucher wartet am Eingang.

The visitor waits at the entrance.

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?

When you use an to indicate location (where something happens), you must use the dative case. That’s why der Eingang (nominative) changes to dem Eingang (dative) after an, giving am Eingang.

Why is the verb wartet placed second in the sentence?

German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must be the second element. Here the order is [Subject] – [Verb] – [Prepositional Phrase].

Why is Eingang capitalized?

All German nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence. Eingang is a noun (“entrance”) and therefore takes a capital letter.

Could you say Der Besucher wartet vor dem Eingang instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, vor dem Eingang (“in front of the entrance”) is also correct. vor plus dative indicates location in front of something. The nuance is that vor dem Eingang emphasizes “just outside,” whereas am Eingang simply means “at the entrance,” possibly right at or very near it.

How are Besucher and Eingang pronounced?

– Besucher: [bəˈzuːxɐ], stress on the second syllable; the ch sounds like the Scottish “loch.”
– Eingang: [ˈaɪnˌɡaŋ], stress on the first syllable; g as in “go,” ng as in “sing.”