Breakdown of Wegen des dringenden Problems trifft sich das Team heute in der Garage.
in
in
heute
today
sich
itself
das Problem
the problem
das Team
the team
treffen
to meet
wegen
because of
die Garage
the garage
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Questions & Answers about Wegen des dringenden Problems trifft sich das Team heute in der Garage.
Why is wegen followed by des dringenden Problems in the genitive case?
Because wegen is a genitive preposition in standard German; it requires the genitive. For the neuter noun das Problem, the genitive singular is des Problems, and with the strong adjective dringend, the ending -en applies: des dringenden Problems.
Could I use wegen dem dringenden Problem instead?
In colloquial spoken German, you often hear wegen dem dringenden Problem (accusative). However, this is considered non-standard. Formal and written German demands the genitive: wegen des dringenden Problems.
Why is trifft in second position, and why is sich before das Team?
German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb must be the second sentence element. Here, the prepositional phrase Wegen des dringenden Problems counts as the first element, so trifft comes next. Pronouns (including reflexive sich) are treated as early constituents and usually precede the noun subject das Team.
What is the function of sich in trifft sich das Team?
sich treffen is a reflexive verb meaning “to meet (each other).” It indicates that the members of the team are meeting among themselves. Without sich, das Team trifft could imply meeting someone outside or a non-reflexive meaning.
Why is in der Garage using the dative case?
The preposition in can take either accusative (for direction/motion: “into”) or dative (for location: “in/at”). Here it indicates a static location (“where?”), so it takes the dative: in der Garage. Garage is feminine, so the dative singular article is der.
Why is das Team treated as neuter?
Although Team ends in -am, it’s a loanword from English and is assigned the neuter gender in German. Thus, it takes das in the nominative singular.
Why does heute come before in der Garage?
German adverbial phrases typically follow the sequence Time-Manner-Place. Here heute (time) precedes in der Garage (place). You could also say in der Garage trifft sich das Team heute, but the most common neutral order is time before place when both appear in the mid-field.
Could I say Das Team trifft sich heute in der Garage wegen des dringenden Problems instead?
Yes, that word order is grammatically correct. However, putting wegen des dringenden Problems at the beginning emphasizes the reason. Moving it to the end is more neutral or background information.