Breakdown of Der Großvater wohnt in einem kleinen Dorf.
in
in
klein
small
wohnen
to live
das Dorf
the village
Questions & Answers about Der Großvater wohnt in einem kleinen Dorf.
Why is the article Der used before Großvater?
Der is the nominative singular masculine definite article in German. Großvater is a masculine noun and it’s the subject of the sentence, so it takes der.
What does wohnt mean, and how is it conjugated?
Wohnt is the third-person singular present form of the verb wohnen, which means “to live” or “to reside.” Its conjugation in the present tense is:
- ich wohne
- du wohnst
- er/sie/es wohnt
- wir wohnen
- ihr wohnt
- sie/Sie wohnen
Why do we use in and what case follows it here?
When in indicates location (where someone lives), it governs the dative case. Here it means “in” as in “inside” or “within” a place, so the following article and adjective must be in dative.
Why is it einem instead of ein or einen?
Because einem is the dative singular form of the indefinite article for masculine and neuter nouns. Since Dorf is neuter and we’re in the dative case after in, we use einem.
Why does klein become kleinen?