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Questions & Answers about Der Schrank ist aus Holz.
Why is der Schrank used instead of die Schrank or das Schrank?
In German, Schrank is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine definite article der in the nominative case (the subject of the sentence).
Why is Schrank capitalized?
German always capitalizes its nouns. Since Schrank (cupboard/wardrobe) is a noun, it must begin with a capital letter.
What does the preposition aus mean here?
In this sentence, aus means “made of” or “out of,” indicating the material from which something is constructed.
Why is there no article before Holz (e.g., aus dem Holz)?
When expressing material composition with aus, German typically drops the article. Additionally, Holz (wood) is an uncountable noun, so you simply say aus Holz.
Which grammatical case does aus require?
The preposition aus always takes the dative case. If you did include an article for a masculine/neuter noun, it would be aus dem.
Could you use von instead of aus, as in Der Schrank ist von Holz?
No. Von generally indicates origin, possession, or source (like “from someone”). To express the material something is made of, you must use aus.
Is there another way to say “made of wood” using an adjective?
Yes. You can use the adjective hölzern. The sentence becomes Der Schrank ist hölzern, which also means “The cupboard is made of wood.”
Can you move aus Holz to the beginning of the sentence?
Yes. Starting with Aus Holz shifts the emphasis and requires verb–subject inversion:
Aus Holz ist der Schrank.
How are Schrank and Holz pronounced?
Schrank: [ʃʁaŋk] (approximately “SHRAHNGK”)
Holz: [hɔlts] (approximately “HOLTS”)
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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