Breakdown of Der Kollege arbeitet geduldig am Dokument.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
arbeiten
to work
der Kollege
the colleague
an
on
Questions & Answers about Der Kollege arbeitet geduldig am Dokument.
What case is am Dokument, and why is the article contracted to am?
“am” is a contraction of an dem, showing the preposition an plus the dative article dem. When an expresses a static location or “working on” something, it takes the dative case. Hence dem Dokument becomes am Dokument.
Why is geduldig not inflected like an adjective (e.g. geduldiger)?
In German, adjectives used as adverbs remain in their base form and do not take endings. Here geduldig modifies the verb arbeitet, so it’s functioning as an adverb: “(he works) patiently,” without any adjective ending.
Why is it der Kollege and not die Kollege?
Kollege is a masculine noun. In the nominative singular, masculine nouns take the article der. If you meant a female colleague, you would say die Kollegin. The plural of Kollege (regardless of gender) is die Kollegen.
Why do we need an in arbeitet am Dokument? Can’t we say just arbeitet das Dokument?