Breakdown of Im Regal der Bibliothek stehen viele neue Romane.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
neu
new
stehen
to stand
viele
many
die Bibliothek
the library
das Regal
the shelf
der Roman
the novel
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Questions & Answers about Im Regal der Bibliothek stehen viele neue Romane.
Why is im used instead of ins?
ins is a contraction of in + das, which takes the accusative case and implies movement (answering “wohin?”). Here we’re indicating location (answering “wo?”), so we use the dative: in + dem = im. Also, Regal is neuter (das Regal), so its dative form is dem Regal.
Why is der Bibliothek in the genitive case? Could I also say im Regal von der Bibliothek?
der Bibliothek is a genitive attribute modifying Regal, showing “the shelf of the library.” German often uses the genitive to express possession. You can say im Regal von der Bibliothek (using von + dative), which is common in speech, but the genitive (der Bibliothek) is more concise and preferred in formal or written style.
Why is stehen used instead of liegen or sind?
German distinguishes how objects are placed:
• stehen for objects standing upright,
• liegen for objects lying flat,
• sitzen for objects “sitting.”
Books are upright on a shelf, so stehen is natural. You could use sind (“there are many new novels”), but it doesn’t convey their orientation.
What grammatical role and case does viele neue Romane have?
viele neue Romane is the subject of the sentence, so it’s in the nominative case. viele is a quantifier/determiner that requires a plural noun, and neue is the accompanying adjective.
Why does neue take the ending -e?
With no preceding article (but with a quantifier like viele), adjectives use the strong declension pattern. In the nominative plural, the strong ending is -e, so neu becomes neue.
Why is stehen placed right after Im Regal der Bibliothek?
In a main clause, German requires the finite verb in second position. The first position here is occupied by the adverbial phrase Im Regal der Bibliothek, so stehen follows immediately as the second element.
Could I say im Bibliotheksregal instead of im Regal der Bibliothek?
Yes. Bibliotheksregal is a compound noun (“library shelf”). Saying im Bibliotheksregal is more concise and equally correct, though style and preference may vary.
Can I start the sentence with Viele neue Romane instead of Im Regal der Bibliothek?
Yes. If you place the subject first, you still keep the verb in second position:
Viele neue Romane stehen im Regal der Bibliothek.
The meaning remains the same.
Why is there no article before viele?
viele itself is a determiner (a quantifier). Determiners like viele, wenige, einige, or alle take the place of an article, so you don’t use an additional article before the noun.