Wir treffen uns um Viertel vor sieben am Treffpunkt vor dem Laden.

We meet at a quarter to seven at the meeting point in front of the shop.

Breakdown of Wir treffen uns um Viertel vor sieben am Treffpunkt vor dem Laden.

• wir: we
• vor: in front of
• um: at
• an: at

Questions & Answers about Wir treffen uns um Viertel vor sieben am Treffpunkt vor dem Laden.

Why is there uns in “Wir treffen uns”?

Uns is the reflexive pronoun for the first-person plural. The verb sich treffen means “to meet (each other).” So Wir treffen uns literally “We meet ourselves,” i.e. “We are meeting each other.”

Why do we use um before the time expression?

In German, the preposition um is required when giving a precise clock time. It corresponds to English “at” in “at 7 o’clock.” Hence um Viertel vor sieben = “at quarter to seven.”

What does Viertel vor sieben mean exactly?

Viertel vor sieben = “a quarter (15 minutes) before seven.” In other words, 6:45. Note that Germans often use Viertel nach (quarter past), halb (half, i.e. 30 minutes before), and Viertel vor for time expression.

Why is Treffpunkt capitalized?

Every noun in German is written with an initial capital letter. Treffpunkt (“meeting point”) is a compound noun, so it must start with a capital T.

What is am short for in “am Treffpunkt”?