An der alten Mauer wachsen bunte Blumen.

Colorful flowers grow on the old wall.

Breakdown of An der alten Mauer wachsen bunte Blumen.

• alt: old
• die Blume: the flower
• an: on
• der: the; (feminine, dative)
• bunt: colorful
• wachsen: to grow
• die Mauer: the wall

Questions & Answers about An der alten Mauer wachsen bunte Blumen.

Which case does an take here, and why is it dative?

• an is a two-way preposition. It takes the dative for location (answering Wo? “Where?”) and the accusative for direction (answering Wohin? “To where?”).
• Here it describes a location at the wall, so it’s dative: an der alten Mauer.
• Contrast: Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand (motion → accusative) vs. Das Bild hängt an der Wand (location → dative).

Why is it der alten Mauer and not die alte Mauer or dem alten Mauer?

• Mauer is feminine: die Mauer.
• Dative singular feminine is der, so with dative after an you get an der.
• dem is dative for masculine/neuter, so it doesn’t match a feminine noun. die alte Mauer would be nominative/accusative, not dative.

Why does the adjective end in -en in der alten Mauer?

• After a definite article (like der/die/das), adjectives take the “weak” ending.
• In dative singular (any gender), that ending is -en, hence der alten Mauer.

Is An der alten Mauer the subject?

• No. An der alten Mauer is a prepositional phrase indicating location.
• The subject is bunte Blumen (nominative plural).
• The verb wachsen is intransitive; it doesn’t take a direct object.

Why does the verb come before bunte Blumen?

• German main clauses follow the “verb-second” (V2) rule.
• A whole phrase (An der alten Mauer) is placed in the first position, so the finite verb (wachsen) must be second, and the subject (bunte Blumen) follows it.

Can I start with the subject instead?

• Yes: Bunte Blumen wachsen an der alten Mauer.
• Both orders are correct. The original puts emphasis on the location; starting with the subject emphasizes what grows.

Why is it wachsen and not wächst?

• The verb agrees with the subject. Blumen is plural, so the verb is wachsen (3rd person plural).
• Mini paradigm: ich wachse, du wächst, er/sie/es wächst, wir wachsen, ihr wachst, sie/Sie wachsen.

Why is there no article before bunte Blumen?

• Indefinite plural nouns in German often drop the article, similar to English “(some) colorful flowers.”
• If you want to be definite, use die: Die bunten Blumen wachsen … If you want to be fully indefinite singular, you’d use eine (e.g., eine Blume).

How do I negate this sentence?

• Use kein- for negating an indefinite noun: An der alten Mauer wachsen keine bunten Blumen.
• You can also front the negation: Keine bunten Blumen wachsen an der alten Mauer.
• Don’t use plain nicht directly before the noun here; with indefinite nouns, kein- is the natural choice.

How do I turn it into a yes/no question?

• Put the verb first: Wachsen an der alten Mauer bunte Blumen?
• You can also put the subject right after the verb: Wachsen bunte Blumen an der alten Mauer?

How would it look in a subordinate clause?

• The finite verb goes to the end: …, weil an der alten Mauer bunte Blumen wachsen. / …, dass an der alten Mauer bunte Blumen wachsen.

What’s the difference between an der Mauer, auf der Mauer, and bei der Mauer?

• an der Mauer: at/against/by the wall (often implying contact or immediate proximity).
• auf der Mauer: on top of the wall.
• bei der Mauer: near the wall (in the vicinity, not necessarily touching).

Why Mauer and not Wand?

• die Mauer typically means an exterior or freestanding wall (garden wall, city wall).
• die Wand is usually an interior wall inside a building.
• Flowers are described as growing by an outdoor wall, so Mauer fits best.

Can I contract an der to am here?

• No. am = an dem (masculine/neuter dative). Mauer is feminine dative (der), so you must say an der.
• Example of a valid contraction: am alten Haus (= an dem alten Haus).

Does an ever take the accusative in similar sentences?

• Yes, with motion toward the wall: Er lehnt die Leiter an die Mauer.
• With growth, German typically expresses “along/at the wall” with dative: Efeu wächst an der Mauer (hoch). Saying an die Mauer wachsen is unusual for flowers.

How do you pronounce wachsen?

• w sounds like English “v.”
• chs is pronounced like “ks” (as in “foxy”): roughly “VAHK-sen.”
• Don’t pronounce ch separately here; the sequence chs simplifies to that “ks” sound.

Can bunt come after the noun instead?

• As a predicate adjective, yes: Die Blumen sind bunt.
• When it directly modifies a noun (attributive), it goes before the noun and takes endings: bunte Blumen, keine bunten Blumen, der bunten Blumen (depending on case/article).