Breakdown of In sechzig Tagen beginnt der Sommerurlaub.
in
in
der Tag
the day
beginnen
to begin
sechzig
sixty
der Sommerurlaub
the summer vacation
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Questions & Answers about In sechzig Tagen beginnt der Sommerurlaub.
Why does in take the dative case in in sechzig Tagen rather than the accusative?
When in denotes a point in time in the future (English “in X days”), it always governs the dative case. So in sechzig Tagen literally means “in sixty days,” and Tagen is the dative plural of der Tag.
Could you say in sechzig Tage instead of in sechzig Tagen?
No. Temporal in requires dative, so you must use Tagen (dative plural). Using Tage (nominative or accusative plural) here would be ungrammatical.
Why is the verb beginnt placed before der Sommerurlaub when the time expression comes first?
German main clauses follow the V-second rule: the conjugated verb must be the second element. Because in sechzig Tagen is the first element (a time phrase), beginnt jumps to the second position, and der Sommerurlaub follows it.
Could I also say Der Sommerurlaub beginnt in sechzig Tagen? Is that less correct?
You can absolutely say Der Sommerurlaub beginnt in sechzig Tagen. It’s equally correct; you’re just choosing to put the subject first. Beginning with the time phrase (as in the original) simply emphasizes “in sixty days.”
Why is Sommerurlaub written as one word and capitalized?
German compounds combine nouns into a single word: Sommer + Urlaub → Sommerurlaub. All German nouns are capitalized, hence the uppercase S in Sommerurlaub.
Why is Sommerurlaub singular when in English we often say “summer holidays” (plural)?
In German, Urlaub is uncountable or treated as a singular concept (“vacation” or “time off”). So you don’t pluralize it for multiple days or events. Sommerurlaub simply means “summer vacation.”
Is there anything special about spelling sechzig instead of “sechzig”?
No special trick—sechzig is the correct German spelling for “sixty.” Notice the -ig ending, which many German numbers (zwanzig, dreißig, vierzig, etc.) use for multiples of ten.