Word
Das Konzert dauert sechzig Minuten.
Meaning
The concert lasts sixty minutes.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Das Konzert dauert sechzig Minuten.
die Minute
the minute
dauern
to last
das Konzert
the concert
sechzig
sixty
Questions & Answers about Das Konzert dauert sechzig Minuten.
What does the verb dauern mean, and why is dauert used here?
dauern means “to last” or “to take (time).” In the sentence Das Konzert dauert sechzig Minuten, dauert is simply the third-person singular present tense form of dauern, agreeing with the singular subject Das Konzert.
Why isn’t there a preposition like für before sechzig Minuten?
When you use dauern to describe how long something lasts, the time expression stands on its own (functioning as an accusative time adverbial) and does not require für. Saying Das Konzert dauert für sechzig Minuten would be ungrammatical.
Why is Minuten in the plural form?
Because the quantity is more than one. In German, as in English, you use the plural of a noun when you count more than one of it. Here you have sixty Minuten, so Minute becomes Minuten.
Could you say Das Konzert dauert eine Stunde instead?
Yes. eine Stunde (“one hour”) is a perfectly natural alternative. Both sentences are correct, but one uses minutes and the other uses hours.
How do I form other duration statements with dauern?