Breakdown of An der alten Mauer wachsen bunte Blumen.
alt
old
die Blume
the flower
an
on
der
the; (feminine, dative)
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?