Breakdown of Die Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt.
Questions & Answers about Die Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt.
Because the verb here is the separable verb stattfinden (to take place).
- The infinitive is stattfinden (one word).
- In a main clause, German splits separable verbs:
- The conjugated part (findet) must be in second position.
- The separable prefix (statt) goes to the end of the clause.
So:
- Infinitive: stattfinden
- Main clause: Die Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt.
- Subordinate clause (not split): …, dass die Matheprüfung nächste Woche stattfindet.
Writing findetstatt is simply wrong in standard German.
Yes, Die Matheprüfung ist nächste Woche is perfectly correct and very natural.
Nuance:
Die Matheprüfung ist nächste Woche.
Sounds a bit simpler and more colloquial. Literally “The math exam is next week,” but understood as “takes place next week.”Die Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt.
Slightly more formal or explicit. Literally “The math exam takes place next week.” Often used in written notices, official info, etc.
In everyday speech, both are fine; in many contexts they are interchangeable.
German often uses the present tense with a time expression to talk about the future.
- Die Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt.
= “The math exam will take place next week.”
The time phrase nächste Woche makes it clear that this is future time, so German does not need a separate future tense form.
You can say:
- Die Matheprüfung wird nächste Woche stattfinden.
This is also correct. It may sound a bit more formal or emphasize the futurity, but in everyday language the simple present is more common when the time is clear.
Because Prüfung (exam, test) is a feminine noun in German: die Prüfung.
Matheprüfung is a compound noun:
- Mathe (short for Mathematik) + Prüfung → die Matheprüfung
In German compounds, the last part determines the gender:
- die Deutschprüfung
- die Fahrprüfung
- die Abschlussprüfung
So even though Mathe on its own is also feminine (die Mathe), it’s actually Prüfung at the end that decides the gender for the whole compound. Therefore: die Matheprüfung.
In standard German, it should be one word: Matheprüfung.
German often forms new nouns by sticking existing nouns together into a single compound:
- Mathe
- Prüfung → Matheprüfung
- Deutsch
- Buch → Deutschbuch
- Sommer
- Ferien → Sommerferien
You might sometimes see a hyphen for clarity, especially in print:
- Mathe-Prüfung
But writing it as two separate words (Mathe Prüfung) is usually considered wrong or at least non‑standard for a normal sentence like this.
Mathe is the colloquial, shortened form of Mathematik.
- die Matheprüfung – everyday, school-style, informal to neutral
- die Mathematikprüfung – more formal or technical
Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing in this context. In a casual school context, Matheprüfung is more common; in official paperwork, exams at university, or very formal texts, Mathematikprüfung might appear.
Because Woche is feminine, and here we have a feminine singular noun without an article, used as a time expression.
For feminine nouns with no article, the adjective ending is -e in both nominative and accusative:
- nächste Woche
- letzte Woche
- ganze Woche
By contrast, for masculine nouns in the accusative with no article, the adjective ends in -en:
- nächsten Montag
- letzten Freitag
- diesen Sommer
So:
- Feminine: nächste Woche ✅
- Masculine: nächsten Monat ✅
That’s why nächste Woche is correct, not nächsten Woche.
Grammatically, nächste Woche is usually analyzed as accusative functioning as an adverbial of time (answering “when?”).
German often uses the accusative for bare time expressions:
- jeden Tag (every day)
- letzten Montag (last Monday)
- nächsten Dienstag (next Tuesday)
With feminine nouns, the nominative and accusative forms look the same in the singular:
- Nominative: die Woche – nächste Woche
- Accusative: die Woche – nächste Woche
So the form doesn’t change, but its function in the sentence is as a time expression, typically treated as accusative of time.
Yes. Common options are:
As in your sentence (mid-position):
Die Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt.At the beginning (to emphasize the time):
Nächste Woche findet die Matheprüfung statt.
In both cases, the conjugated verb must stay in 2nd position in a main clause:
- If Die Matheprüfung is first, then findet is second.
- If Nächste Woche is first, then findet is second.
Putting nächste Woche right at the end, after statt, is unusual:
- Die Matheprüfung findet statt nächste Woche.
This is not wrong but sounds marked/colloquial and is rarely used in neutral standard German. Stick with the first two versions.
In German, all nouns are capitalized, but adjectives are not (unless they are part of certain fixed names).
- Matheprüfung – noun → capitalized
- Woche – noun → capitalized
- nächste – adjective → lower-case
Also, the first word of the sentence, Die, is capitalized because it starts the sentence and is a determiner (die, “the”).
In a normal full sentence, no: you should use an article:
- Die Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt.
German usually needs an article with singular countable nouns when you refer to a specific thing, unless there is a special reason not to.
You might see article-less versions in:
- Headlines / notes / timetables:
Matheprüfung findet nächste Woche statt (like a bulletin-board note) - Very telegraphic language (e.g. short announcements)
But in standard, complete sentences, especially in spoken German, you would normally include die (or eine, depending on the meaning).