Breakdown of Im Mondlicht glänzt jede Welle am Strand.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
an
on
das Mondlicht
the moonlight
jede
every
der Strand
the beach
die Welle
the wave
glänzen
to glisten
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Questions & Answers about Im Mondlicht glänzt jede Welle am Strand.
Why is Im capitalized – isn’t it a preposition?
It’s capitalized because it’s the first word of the sentence. In German, any word at the beginning is written with an initial capital letter. Also, im is a contraction of in + dem (dative), and normally it stays lowercase when it’s not sentence-initial.
Why are Mondlicht, Welle, and Strand all capitalized in the middle of the sentence?
German orthography requires that every noun—common or proper—be capitalized. So Mondlicht (moonlight), Welle (wave), and Strand (beach) are all nouns and therefore always start with a capital letter.
What case is used in im Mondlicht and am Strand, and why?
German has “two-way” prepositions like in and an:
- Dative for a static location (answering “where?”):
in- dem → im, an
- dem → am
- dem → im, an
- Accusative for motion toward a place (answering “where to?”):
in- das → ins, an
- den (no common contraction with masculine)
Here both im Mondlicht and am Strand describe where something is (location), so they use the dative case.
- den (no common contraction with masculine)
- das → ins, an
Why does the verb glänzt appear before the subject jede Welle?
German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule. Since the sentence opens with the adverbial phrase Im Mondlicht, the conjugated verb glänzt must occupy the second position. The subject jede Welle then comes after the verb.
Why is there no article before Welle? Why not die Welle or eine Welle?
The determiner jede (each/every) takes the place of an article. You don’t combine it with die or eine. It directly modifies the noun and carries the necessary grammatical information.
What’s the difference between jede Welle and alle Wellen, and why use the singular?
- jede Welle means “each/every wave,” emphasizing individual waves one by one.
- alle Wellen means “all the waves,” focusing on them collectively.
Using the singular form with jede creates a poetic feel, highlighting the sparkle on every single wave.
What does glänzt mean here, and is it a transitive verb?
glänzen means “to shine,” “to glisten,” or “to gleam.” In this sentence it’s intransitive (no direct object); it simply describes the way the waves shine in the moonlight.
Can I rearrange the sentence to Jede Welle am Strand glänzt im Mondlicht? Does it change the meaning?
Yes—German allows flexible word order as long as the verb remains in the second position. Starting with Jede Welle shifts the emphasis onto the waves themselves, whereas Im Mondlicht up front highlights the setting. The overall meaning stays essentially the same.