Unser Büro liegt im fünften Stockwerk, dennoch findet das Meeting an einem anderen Ort statt.

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Questions & Answers about Unser Büro liegt im fünften Stockwerk, dennoch findet das Meeting an einem anderen Ort statt.

Why is im fünften Stockwerk used, and what do im and the -en ending on fünften indicate?
  • im is the contraction of in dem, a preposition + definite article indicating location.
  • Because it’s a location (where something is), the noun following in takes the dative case.
  • In the dative, ordinal numbers (like fünfter) receive the -en ending, so fünfterfünften.
What’s the difference between Stockwerk, Stock, and Etage?
  • Stockwerk (neuter) and Etage (feminine) both mean “floor” in a building and are largely interchangeable in formal contexts.
  • Stock (masculine) is more colloquial and common in everyday speech (e.g. im dritten Stock) but can sound less formal than Stockwerk or Etage.
What does dennoch mean, and how is it different from trotzdem?
  • Both dennoch and trotzdem mean “nevertheless” or “still.”
  • dennoch is a bit more formal or written, whereas trotzdem is very common in spoken German.
  • Grammatically they behave the same: they introduce a contrasting clause and trigger inversion of the subject and finite verb.
How does the verb stattfinden work in this sentence?
  • stattfinden is a separable verb: base verb finden
    • prefix statt.
  • In main clauses, the finite part (findet) occupies the second position, and the prefix (statt) goes to the end.
  • So das Meeting findet statt literally means “the meeting takes place.”
Why is it an einem anderen Ort and not some other case?
  • The preposition an can govern either accusative (for motion) or dative (for location).
  • Here it expresses location ("at a different place"), so it takes the dative.
  • Hence eineinem, and the adjective ander takes the dative weak ending -enanderen.
Why does the word order change after dennoch?
  • In German main clauses, the finite verb must be the second element.
  • When you begin a sentence with an adverb or adverbial connector like dennoch, that counts as the first element, so the subject and verb swap order.
  • Hence: dennoch (1) → findet (2) → das Meeting (3) …
Why is the adjective anderen ending in -en here?
  • In an einem anderen Ort, Ort is masculine and in the dative case.
  • With a definite or indefinite article plus a following adjective, you generally use the weak adjective declension, which gives -en in all dative forms.
  • That’s why it’s einem anderen Ort, not anderer or anderes.