Der Aufzug hat eine automatische Tür.

The elevator has an automatic door.

Breakdown of Der Aufzug hat eine automatische Tür.

• haben: to have
• die Tür: the door
• der Aufzug: the elevator
• automatisch: automatic

Questions & Answers about Der Aufzug hat eine automatische Tür.

Why is Aufzug preceded by der, and how do I know that Aufzug is masculine?

In German, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine or neuter. The article der marks masculine nouns in the nominative case. Unfortunately, there’s no foolproof rule to predict a noun’s gender, so you simply learn each noun together with its article—der Aufzug.

Why do we use eine before automatische Tür, and not einen or ein?

Because Tür is a feminine noun (die Tür). In the accusative case (direct object), the feminine indefinite article remains eine (nominative eine → accusative eine). If it were masculine, you’d see einen, and if neuter, ein.

What case is eine automatische Tür in, and how do I recognize it?

It’s in the accusative case. You identify the direct object by asking “What does the subject have?”

• Subject (nominative): der Aufzug
• Verb: hat
• Answer (“What does it have?”): eine automatische Tür (accusative)

Why is the adjective automatisch inflected as automatische?

German adjectives change their endings based on gender, number, case and the article. Here we have:

• Feminine noun (Tür)
• Singular
• Accusative case
• Preceded by an indefinite article (eine)
  This triggers the weak declension, so the adjective takes -e: automatische Tür.

Could I say Der Aufzug hat automatische Türen to talk about multiple doors?

Yes! That sentence means The elevator has automatic doors. Notes:
• Türen is the plural of Tür.
• In the plural, you can drop the article entirely if you’re speaking generally: Der Aufzug hat automatische Türen.
• If you wanted a definite article: Die Aufzüge haben automatische Türen (“The elevators have automatic doors”).

Is Aufzug the same as Fahrstuhl, and are there regional differences?

Both Aufzug and Fahrstuhl mean “elevator.”
• Aufzug is more common in northern and central Germany.
• Fahrstuhl is often heard in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Choose based on region or personal preference.

Why is the verb hat in the second position rather than at the end, like in subordinate clauses?

In a main clause, German follows the verb-second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb appears in position 2. In your sentence:
1st position: Der Aufzug
2nd position: hat
In subordinate clauses (introduced by words like weil or dass), the verb moves to the end.