Breakdown of Letztes Jahr wohnte ich in einem ruhigen Vorort, der nah an der Stadt lag.
in
in
ich
I
ruhig
quiet
wohnen
to live
die Stadt
the city
liegen
to lie
nah
close
an
to
das Jahr
the year
der
that
letztes
last
der Vorort
the suburb
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Questions & Answers about Letztes Jahr wohnte ich in einem ruhigen Vorort, der nah an der Stadt lag.
Why does the sentence start with Letztes Jahr and why is wohnte right after it?
In German main clauses, if you begin with an adverbial time expression (here Letztes Jahr), the finite verb must occupy the second position. That pushes the subject (ich) to third place and places wohnte immediately after Letztes Jahr. This is called inversion.
Why is wohnte (simple past) used instead of habe gewohnt (present perfect)?
Both forms can describe past events, but German often uses the simple past (Präteritum) in written narratives or formal accounts—especially with common verbs like wohnen. In conversation you might hear ich habe gewohnt, but in writing wohnte is preferred.
Why is it in einem ruhigen Vorort and not in einen ruhigen Vorort?
The preposition in can govern either accusative (direction/movement) or dative (location/stationary). Here you’re stating where you lived (a static location), so in takes the dative case. The masculine noun Vorort in dative singular becomes einem Vorort, and the adjective ruhig takes the dative adjective ending -en (see below).
Why does ruhigen have an -en ending?
Because you have an indefinite article (einem) in the dative singular. After einem (which already shows gender and case), adjectives follow the weak declension, which for all genders in dative singular is -en. Hence ruhigen Vorort.
Why is the relative pronoun der used, and how do we know it’s in the nominative case?
The relative clause describes Vorort (a masculine noun). Inside that clause, der is actually the subject of lag. Since the subject of a clause is in the nominative, you use the masculine nominative relative pronoun der.
Why is lag at the end of the relative clause?
German subordinate (dependent) clauses always put the finite verb at the very end. Because der nah an der Stadt lag is a relative (subordinate) clause, lag goes to the end.
Why is it nah an der Stadt instead of an die Stadt, and what case is der Stadt?
Here an expresses proximity (location), not movement toward the city. For location, an takes the dative case. The feminine noun Stadt in dative singular becomes der Stadt. If you were moving into or onto something, you’d use the accusative (an die).
Could you also say nahe der Stadt instead of nah an der Stadt?
Yes. nahe can function as a preposition (requiring dative) meaning “near.” It’s a bit more formal or literary. So nahe der Stadt and nah an der Stadt are largely interchangeable, though nah an is more conversational.