Breakdown of Der Arzt untersucht den Mann im Krankenhaus.
der Mann
the man
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
der Arzt
the doctor
das Krankenhaus
the hospital
untersuchen
to examine
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Questions & Answers about Der Arzt untersucht den Mann im Krankenhaus.
Why is der used before Arzt instead of another article?
In German, the definite article changes with the noun’s gender, number and case. Arzt (doctor) is masculine singular and functions as the subject of this sentence, so it takes the masculine singular nominative article der.
Why is den used before Mann, not dem or der?
Mann (man) is masculine singular, but here it is the direct object of untersuchen (to examine). Direct objects require the accusative case in German. The masculine singular accusative article is den. Dem would be dative, der is feminine nominative.
What case is im Krankenhaus, and why is it written that way?
Im is a contraction of in dem. The preposition in takes the dative case when indicating location (where something happens). Dem Krankenhaus (neuter dative) contracts to im Krankenhaus, meaning “in the hospital.”
Why is the verb untersucht placed immediately after Der Arzt?
German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb must appear in the second position. Here, Der Arzt is first, untersucht (the verb) is second, then you have the object and the location phrase.
Can I begin with the location Im Krankenhaus instead?
Yes. Moving Im Krankenhaus to the front shifts emphasis onto the setting. You still keep the finite verb in second position:
Im Krankenhaus untersucht der Arzt den Mann.
Could I swap the order of den Mann and im Krankenhaus?
Yes. Both
Der Arzt untersucht den Mann im Krankenhaus.
and
Der Arzt untersucht im Krankenhaus den Mann.
are grammatically correct. Placing the direct object (den Mann) directly after the verb is the more neutral, common order.
Does untersuchen always take an accusative object?
Yes. Untersuchen is a transitive verb meaning “to examine” or “to investigate,” so it requires a direct object in the accusative case.
Why are Arzt, Mann and Krankenhaus capitalized?
German orthography dictates that all nouns are capitalized, regardless of position in the sentence.
Is Krankenhaus always neuter, even when I contract it with in?
Yes. Krankenhaus is a neuter noun (das Krankenhaus). In the dative singular it becomes dem Krankenhaus, which contracts with in to im Krankenhaus.