Meine Mutter unterrichtet Musik sowie Englisch an der Schule.

the school

Breakdown of Meine Mutter unterrichtet Musik sowie Englisch an der Schule.

• die Musik: the music
• die Mutter: the mother
• an: at
• unterrichten: to teach
• sowie: as well as

Questions & Answers about Meine Mutter unterrichtet Musik sowie Englisch an der Schule.

Why is the finite verb unterrichtet in the second position in this sentence?

In German main clauses the finite verb must occupy the second position (the “Verb-Zweitstellung” rule). Here Meine Mutter is the first element, so unterrichtet follows immediately. If you move another element (e.g. a time or place phrase) to the front, unterrichtet would still be the second constituent.

What does unterrichten mean, and can I use lehren instead?

Unterrichten means “to teach” a subject in a formal educational setting (like school). Lehren also means “to teach,” but is often used in academic or abstract contexts (e.g. a university lecturer, or “to teach a principle”). In everyday school talk, unterrichten is more common, though you won’t be misunderstood if you say lehrt.

Why is there no die before Mutter in Meine Mutter?

Possessive pronouns like meine act like articles/determiners, so you never combine them with a definite article. You cannot say die meine Mutter—it’s simply meine Mutter.

Why are Mutter, Musik, and Englisch capitalized?

In German all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in a sentence. Since Mutter, Musik, and Englisch are all nouns (family member, subject, language), they always start with an uppercase letter.

Why are there no articles before Musik and Englisch, and what case are they in?

When referring to school subjects or languages in German, you normally drop the article. Here both nouns are direct objects of unterrichten, so they’re in the accusative case. Because feminine Musik and neuter Englisch don’t change form in the singular accusative (without an article), they simply appear as Musik and Englisch.

What is the function of sowie here? Could I use und instead?

Sowie means “as well as” or “and in addition.” It links items similarly to und, often with a slightly more formal or emphatic flavor. You can replace sowie with und—Meine Mutter unterrichtet Musik und Englisch an der Schule—but sowie highlights that English is an extra subject she teaches.

Why is an der Schule placed at the end, and why is an followed by the dative case? Could I say in der Schule?

Adverbial phrases of place typically come toward the end of a German sentence. An is a two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition): for a static location (“where?”) it takes the dative (der Schule), while movement (“where to?”) would use the accusative (an die Schule). You could also say in der Schule, but an der Schule is more idiomatic when referring to teaching “at the school” as an institution.

Who is being taught? Why aren’t the students mentioned, and how would I include them?

In German unterrichten takes two objects: the person taught in the dative and the subject matter in the accusative. Here the students (die Schüler) are obvious from context and thus omitted. To specify them you could say:
Meine Mutter unterrichtet den Schülern Musik sowie Englisch an der Schule,
where den Schülern is dative plural.