……
Breakdown of Die Regierung plant ein neues Museum, und die Bürger warten darauf.
und
and
neu
new
planen
to plan
warten auf
to wait for
das Museum
the museum
die Regierung
the government
der Bürger
the citizen
darauf
on it
Questions & Answers about Die Regierung plant ein neues Museum, und die Bürger warten darauf.
Why is Regierung feminine and what does die signify in die Regierung?
German nouns have grammatical gender; Regierung (government) is feminine, so its nominative singular definite article is die.
Why is it ein neues Museum and not einer neues Museum or ein neuer Museum?
Museum is a neuter noun. After the indefinite article ein (which has no ending in the nominative neuter), adjectives take the strong ending -es, giving neues.
Why is there a comma before und? Can it be omitted?
When two main clauses are linked by und, adding a comma is optional in modern German. Writers often include it for clarity, but
Die Regierung plant ein neues Museum und die Bürger warten darauf
(without comma) is also correct.
What does darauf mean and why is it used here?
Darauf is a pronominal adverb (da- + auf) replacing auf das neue Museum. Warten governs the preposition auf, and darauf avoids repeating the noun phrase.
Which case does warten auf govern, and how does darauf reflect that?
The verb phrase warten auf requires the accusative case. Darauf is the accusative neuter form of the pronominal adverb, standing in for auf das Museum.
Why are present-tense verbs (plant, warten) used instead of a future or continuous form?
German often uses the simple present (Präsens) to describe ongoing or near-future actions where English might use the continuous or future tense.
Die Regierung plant … covers is planning, and die Bürger warten … covers are waiting.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“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.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning GermanMaster German — from Die Regierung plant ein neues Museum, und die Bürger warten darauf to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions