Der Besitzer des Hauses unterschreibt den Vertrag mit einem schwarzen Stift.

The owner of the house signs the contract with a black pen.

Breakdown of Der Besitzer des Hauses unterschreibt den Vertrag mit einem schwarzen Stift.

• das Haus: the house
• mit: with
• den: the
• der Vertrag: the contract

Questions & Answers about Der Besitzer des Hauses unterschreibt den Vertrag mit einem schwarzen Stift.

Why are the words Besitzer, Hauses, Vertrag, and Stift capitalized in this sentence?

In German, all nouns are capitalized. This orthographic rule applies to both common and proper nouns. Since Besitzer (owner), Haus (house), Vertrag (contract), and Stift (pen) are all nouns, each begins with a capital letter.

Why does Haus become Hauses in des Hauses?

German uses the genitive case to show possession. For masculine and neuter singular nouns, you usually add -es (or sometimes -s) in the genitive. Because Haus is neuter, its genitive singular is Hauses, and the definite article das changes to des, giving des Hauses (“of the house”).

Why do we use des Hauses instead of a phrase like vom Haus?

Des Hauses is the formal genitive construction for possession. Vom Haus is a contraction of von dem Haus (dative) and can colloquially express “of the house,” but the genitive (des Hauses) is more precise and preferred in written or formal contexts.

Why is den Vertrag in the accusative case?