Die Bevölkerung in der Stadt ist jung.

to be

Breakdown of Die Bevölkerung in der Stadt ist jung.

• in: in
• die Stadt: the city
• jung: young

Questions & Answers about Die Bevölkerung in der Stadt ist jung.

Why is Bevölkerung preceded by die?

Because Bevölkerung is a feminine noun in German. In the nominative singular case (the case used for the subject of a sentence), feminine nouns take the definite article die. So die Bevölkerung literally means “the population.”

Why is in der Stadt dative and not accusative?

The preposition in is a Wechselpräposition (two-way preposition).
• When it indicates location (answers “Where?”), it takes the dative case.
• When it indicates direction or movement (answers “Where to?”), it takes the accusative.
Here we describe a location (“in the city”), so we use dative. Stadt is feminine, and the feminine dative article is der, giving in der Stadt.

Why doesn’t the adjective jung have an ending?

After a copular verb like sein (“to be”), adjectives are used predicatively and remain uninflected. In other words, you say ist jung without adding any adjective ending (no -er, -e, etc.). Predicate adjectives agree in meaning but not in form.

Why is there no comma in Die Bevölkerung in der Stadt ist jung?