Word
Wir treffen uns um achtzehn Uhr im Park.
Meaning
We meet at six o’clock in the park.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Wir treffen uns um achtzehn Uhr im Park.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
wir
we
die Uhr
the clock
Questions & Answers about Wir treffen uns um achtzehn Uhr im Park.
Why is there uns? Can’t I just say Wir treffen?
German uses the reciprocal reflexive verb sich treffen for “to meet (each other).” With wir, that becomes wir treffen uns. Without the reflexive pronoun, treffen normally needs a direct object: Wir treffen ihn (We meet him). Wir treffen on its own sounds incomplete in standard German.
What’s the difference between treffen and sich treffen?
- treffen + object = to meet someone (or to hit): Wir treffen ihn im Park.
- sich treffen = to meet each other: Wir treffen uns im Park.
The reflexive version explicitly signals a reciprocal meeting.
Which case is uns here, and why?
uns is accusative. The reflexive verb sich treffen takes the reflexive pronoun in the accusative case because there’s no other accusative object in the clause.
What does im mean exactly?
im is the contraction of in dem (in the). It’s dative singular because it describes location: in dem Park → im Park.