Breakdown of Vierzig Kinder spielen heute im Garten.
das Kind
the child
spielen
to play
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
heute
today
der Garten
the garden
vierzig
forty
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Questions & Answers about Vierzig Kinder spielen heute im Garten.
Why is the verb spielen in the second position of the sentence?
In German main clauses the finite verb follows the “verb-second” (V2) rule: it must occupy the second slot regardless of what comes first. Here Vierzig Kinder is the first element (the subject), so spielen comes right after as the second.
Why is there no article before Kinder after vierzig?
When you use a cardinal number like vierzig, it directly modifies the noun, so you don’t add a definite or indefinite article. Just like in English with “forty children,” in German you drop the article: vierzig Kinder.
Why is Kinder in the nominative case here?
Kinder is the subject of the sentence (“who is playing?” – the children), and subjects take the nominative case. In the plural nominative, the noun form stays Kinder (no extra ending).
Why is it im Garten instead of something like ins Garten or in den Garten?
- im is a contraction of in + dem (dative singular).
- With the two-way preposition in, you use dative for location (static position) and accusative for movement toward a place.
- Here the action happens in the garden (no motion into it), so you need dative: in dem Garten → im Garten.
- ins Garten (in + das) would require movement into a masculine/neuter garden (accusative), and in den Garten would be dative plural, which doesn’t fit here.
Why is heute placed after the verb? Could I put it at the beginning or end?
German allows some flexibility with adverbial time expressions. Common positions are:
- First, before the subject:
Heute spielen vierzig Kinder im Garten. (emphasis on today) - After the verb:
Vierzig Kinder spielen heute im Garten. (neutral) - Even at the very end:
Vierzig Kinder spielen im Garten heute. (less common)
The key is you still respect the V2 rule (the verb stays second).
What is the usual order for time, manner and place in German sentences?
The typical sequence is Time – Manner – Place (TMP). In our sentence:
• Time = heute
• Place = im Garten
There’s no manner element here. If you had one (e.g. laut for “loudly”), it would go between time and place:
Vierzig Kinder spielen heute laut im Garten.
Why does vierzig end with -zig? How are multiples of ten formed in German?
German uses the suffix -zig (sometimes spelled -ßig) to form 20, 30, 40, etc. The pattern is:
20 zwanzig
30 dreißig (note the ßig)
40 vierzig
50 fünfzig
60 sechzig (dropping the “-en”)
…and so on. Each is simply the base number plus -zig.
Why is Kinder capitalized when “children” in English isn’t?
All nouns in German are always capitalized, regardless of case or number. That’s a core spelling rule: Kinder, Haus, Garten—every noun gets an initial capital letter.