Breakdown of Die Warnung auf dem Bildschirm ist wichtig.
sein
to be
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
auf
on
wichtig
important
der Bildschirm
the screen
die Warnung
the warning
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Questions & Answers about Die Warnung auf dem Bildschirm ist wichtig.
Why is die used before Warnung?
Die is the definite article for feminine singular nouns in the nominative case. Warnung is a feminine noun, and here it is the subject of the sentence, so it takes the feminine nominative article die.
Why is it auf dem Bildschirm and not auf den Bildschirm?
Auf is a two-way (“Wechsel”) preposition. When you express location (wo? – “where?”), you use the dative case. Bildschirm is masculine, so singular dative takes dem. If you were expressing movement toward the screen (wohin? – “to where?”), you would use the accusative (den).
How can I tell whether to use dative or accusative with auf?
Ask yourself if the action implies movement to a place (use accusative) or simply indicates location at a place (use dative). In auf dem Bildschirm, there is no movement; it tells you where the warning is, so the dative is required.
Why isn’t wichtig declined (why no ending like wichtige or wichtiger)?
Because wichtig here is a predicative adjective, following the linking verb ist (“is”). Predicative adjectives in German remain in their base form and do not take case endings.
What’s the difference between using wichtig predicatively and attributively?
Predicative: comes after a verb like sein, as in Die Warnung ist wichtig (no adjective ending).
Attributive: comes before a noun inside a noun phrase, as in die wichtige Warnung (it takes an ending -e for feminine nominative).
Why are Warnung and Bildschirm capitalized?
In German all nouns are capitalized, regardless of where they appear in the sentence.
How do I form a yes/no question from this sentence?
Invert the subject and verb. The sentence becomes:
Ist die Warnung auf dem Bildschirm wichtig?
Could I move auf dem Bildschirm to the front of the sentence?
Yes. You can place the adverbial phrase first for emphasis or style, but the finite verb stays in second position:
Auf dem Bildschirm ist die Warnung wichtig.
How do you make Warnung plural?
The plural of Warnung is Warnungen, so “the warnings” would be die Warnungen.
How can I replace die Warnung auf dem Bildschirm with a pronoun?
Use the feminine singular pronoun sie for Warnung, and you can replace the location auf dem Bildschirm with dort or da. For example:
Sie ist dort wichtig.