Breakdown of Das Konzert beginnt um acht Uhr auf der großen Bühne.
groß
big
die Uhr
the clock
acht
eight
auf
on
beginnen
to begin
um
at
das Konzert
the concert
die Bühne
the stage
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Questions & Answers about Das Konzert beginnt um acht Uhr auf der großen Bühne.
Why is Konzert capitalized?
In German, all nouns are always written with an initial capital letter, no matter where they appear in a sentence. That’s why Konzert (a noun) starts with a capital K.
Why is the verb beginnt in the present tense and placed second in the sentence?
German main clauses follow the verb‑second (V2) rule, meaning the finite verb must occupy the second position. Here, Das Konzert (subject) is first, so beginnt (3rd person singular present of beginnen) comes second to show “The concert begins…”.
Why is beginnt spelled with two n’s and a t at the end?
The infinitive of the verb is beginnen (double n). To form the 3rd person singular present, you drop -en and add -t, keeping both n’s: beginnt.
Why is um used before acht Uhr instead of just saying acht Uhr?
When you give a precise clock time in German, you use the preposition um plus the time. So um acht Uhr literally means “at eight o’clock.”
Why is there no article before acht Uhr?
Time expressions of the form um + cardinal number + Uhr never take an article. You simply say um acht Uhr, not um die acht Uhr.
Why is auf der großen Bühne in the dative case?
The preposition auf can govern either accusative (for movement toward) or dative (for location). Since the concert takes place on the stage (no movement), you use the dative: der is the feminine dative article for Bühne.
Why does großen have the ending -en?
After a definite article in the dative singular, adjectives take the strong/weak declension ending -en. Here der großen Bühne is feminine dative singular, so groß becomes großen.
Why is um acht Uhr placed before auf der großen Bühne?
German orders adverbial phrases in this hierarchy: Time – Place – Manner – Cause. Since um acht Uhr (time) and auf der großen Bühne (place) are both adverbials, the time phrase comes first.
Can I use anfangen instead of beginnen here?
Yes. anfangen is a common synonym of beginnen, but it’s a separable verb, so you’d say: Das Konzert fängt um acht Uhr an.
Can I write 8 Uhr instead of acht Uhr?
Absolutely. In writing you may use numerals: um 8 Uhr (often with a non‑breaking space). In speech you’d still say acht Uhr.