Breakdown of Wir erhöhen die Temperatur im Haus.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
das Haus
the house
wir
we
die Temperatur
the temperature
erhöhen
to increase
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Questions & Answers about Wir erhöhen die Temperatur im Haus.
What does erhöhen mean and is it a separable verb?
erhöhen means to increase (something). It has an inseparable prefix er-, so it is not a separable verb. You conjugate it normally: wir erhöhen, du erhöhst, er erhöht, etc.
Why is die Temperatur in the accusative case, and why is the article die unchanged?
Because die Temperatur is the direct object of erhöhen, it must be in the accusative case. Feminine nouns use die for both nominative and accusative, so the article looks the same.
What does im in im Haus stand for?
im is a contraction of in dem. The preposition in with the dative article dem (for the neuter noun das Haus) contracts to im, indicating location in the house.
Could I say Wir erhöhen im Haus die Temperatur instead? How flexible is the word order?
Yes, Wir erhöhen im Haus die Temperatur is grammatically correct. German word order is relatively flexible: you can place adverbial phrases (like im Haus) before or after the object. The neutral order is Subject-Verb-Object-Adverbial, but moving elements shifts emphasis.
Why is the present tense used here instead of a continuous form like in English (are increasing)?
German does not have a separate continuous (progressive) aspect. The simple present tense (Präsens) covers both increase and are increasing in English.
What's the difference between Wir erhöhen die Temperatur and Die Temperatur erhöht sich?
Wir erhöhen die Temperatur is an active clause with wir as the agent doing the action. Die Temperatur erhöht sich uses the reflexive verb sich erhöhen, meaning the temperature rises by itself (intransitive), with no explicit agent.
Why is Haus capitalized?
All German nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence. Haus, being a noun, follows this rule.