Der Park ist durch das Fenster sichtbar.

to be

Breakdown of Der Park ist durch das Fenster sichtbar.

• das Fenster: the window
• der Park: the park
• durch: through

Questions & Answers about Der Park ist durch das Fenster sichtbar.

What case does durch govern, and why is it durch das Fenster in the accusative?

durch is one of the so-called “FUNDAMENTALPREPOSITIONEN” that always take the accusative case. It expresses movement through or medium. Even though nothing is moving here, the prepositional phrase still follows the accusative requirement of durch. Hence das Fenster (neuter singular) remains das, not dem.

Why is der Park in the nominative case?

der Park is the subject of the sentence. In German, the subject always appears in the nominative case. It’s what the verb ist (to be) is describing.

Is sichtbar a verb or an adjective here?

sichtbar is an adjective (specifically a participial adjective) used predicatively after the copula ist. It describes the state of der Park (“the park is visible”). It is not functioning as a verb form of sehen (“to see”).

Could I rephrase this with a verb like sehen instead of sichtbar?

Yes. A paraphrase is Man kann den Park durch das Fenster sehen (“One can see the park through the window”). That uses the active verb sehen, but keeps the same meaning.

Why does sichtbar come at the end of the sentence instead of right after ist?