Breakdown of Im Krankenhaus warte ich an der Patientenaufnahme.
Questions & Answers about Im Krankenhaus warte ich an der Patientenaufnahme.
Im is a contraction of in dem.
- in = in / at
- dem = the (dative, masculine or neuter singular)
Krankenhaus is a neuter noun (das Krankenhaus). After the preposition in with a location (no movement), German uses the dative case. So you need in dem Krankenhaus → contracted to im Krankenhaus.
Both are grammatically correct, but in normal speech and writing, the contraction im is strongly preferred.
The preposition an can take either dative (location) or accusative (movement toward).
- dative → where something is (location)
- accusative → where something is going to (direction)
In the sentence, you are waiting at the admissions desk; you are already there, so it’s a location:
- an der Patientenaufnahme (dative, feminine) = at the admissions desk
If you were describing movement toward it, you might say:
- Ich gehe an die Patientenaufnahme. = I am going to (up to) the admissions desk.
So warte … an der uses dative because it’s a static location.
The dictionary gives you the nominative form: die Patientenaufnahme (feminine).
But prepositions can change the case. an + location requires the dative case:
- Nominative: die Patientenaufnahme
- Dative (feminine): der Patientenaufnahme
So:
- Nominative: Die Patientenaufnahme ist dort. (The admissions desk is there.)
- Dative after an (location): Ich warte an der Patientenaufnahme. (I am waiting at the admissions desk.)
der here is not masculine; it’s the feminine dative singular article.
Yes, you can say:
- Ich warte im Krankenhaus an der Patientenaufnahme.
The basic meaning is the same.
The difference is emphasis and style:
Im Krankenhaus warte ich an der Patientenaufnahme.
– Emphasizes where: As for at the hospital, there I’m waiting at admissions.
– Typical when you want to set the scene: “In the hospital, I’m waiting at the admissions desk.”Ich warte im Krankenhaus an der Patientenaufnahme.
– More neutral, starting with the subject ich, like in English.
– Just states the fact: “I’m waiting in the hospital at the admissions desk.”
Both are correct and natural.
German is a verb-second (V2) language in main clauses. That means:
- The finite verb (here: warte) must be in second position.
- Only one element can be in first position (subject, time phrase, place phrase, etc.).
In your sentence, the place phrase is in first position:
- First position: Im Krankenhaus
- Second position (verb): warte
- Then the subject: ich
- Rest of the clause: an der Patientenaufnahme
So the structure is: [Im Krankenhaus] [warte] [ich] [an der Patientenaufnahme].
If you put ich first:
- Ich warte im Krankenhaus an der Patientenaufnahme.
Now ich is in first position, and warte is still second. Both patterns are correct V2 word order.
In standard German:
- das Krankenhaus is the normal, everyday word for “hospital.”
- das Hospital exists but is far less common and often appears in specific names (e.g. Elisabeth-Hospital) or in older/technical/Swiss contexts.
In modern everyday German in Germany, you almost always use Krankenhaus.
So Im Krankenhaus is the natural, idiomatic phrase for “in the hospital.”
Patientenaufnahme is a compound noun:
- der Patient / die Patientin = (male / female) patient
- die Patienten = patients (plural)
- die Aufnahme = intake, admission, recording, reception (depending on context)
So die Patientenaufnahme = the place or process where patients are admitted → “patient admissions,” “admissions desk,” or “reception” (specifically for patients).
In German, such compounds are normally written as one word: Patientenaufnahme, not Patienten Aufnahme. Writing it as two separate words would be incorrect.
Yes, bei der Patientenaufnahme is also possible, but there is a nuance:
an der Patientenaufnahme
→ slightly more precise: physically at / by the counter/desk/location.
→ emphasizes being at that exact spot.bei der Patientenaufnahme
→ more general: near, with, or at the department of admissions.
→ could mean you are somewhere in or around the admissions area, not necessarily right at the counter.
In many real-life contexts, both would be understood similarly, but an der sounds more like “right at the admissions desk.”
You can say:
- Ich warte im Krankenhaus an der Rezeption.
This is grammatically correct but the nuance is different:
- die Rezeption = reception (general word, also used for hotels, offices, etc.)
- die Patientenaufnahme = specifically the hospital admissions area for patients.
If you want to sound like you’re in a hospital and talking about the official admissions point for patients, Patientenaufnahme is more precise and natural.
If the hospital itself uses the word Rezeption on its signs, then using Rezeption would also be fine.
Yes, literally it does:
- krank = ill, sick
- das Haus = house
Historically, das Krankenhaus literally means “house for the sick,” which corresponds to the English “hospital.” It’s a common pattern in German to form nouns by combining descriptive words:
- Krankenversicherung = health insurance (krank
- Versicherung (insurance))
- Krankenpflegerin = female nurse / carer for the sick
But in modern use, Krankenhaus just means “hospital,” not a generic “sick house.”
In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.
- das Krankenhaus → Krankenhaus is a noun, so it’s capitalized.
- die Patientenaufnahme → Patientenaufnahme is also a noun (a compound), so it’s capitalized.
This rule applies even inside long compounds and even in the middle of a sentence. Adjectives and verbs are not normally capitalized (unless they are at the start of the sentence or turned into nouns).
The verb is warten = to wait.
In the sentence, you have:
- Subject: ich (I)
- Verb: warte
warte is the 1st person singular, present tense of warten:
- ich warte – I wait / I am waiting
- du wartest – you wait (informal)
- er/sie/es wartet – he/she/it waits
- wir warten – we wait
- ihr wartet – you (pl.) wait
- sie/Sie warten – they / you (formal) wait
So Ich warte = “I wait” or “I am waiting”; in German, the simple present covers both English simple present and present continuous.
It would be unusual and usually not what you want to say.
- auf etwas warten = to wait for something
- an etwas warten = to wait at something (place)
In your sentence, you are waiting at a place, not waiting for that place:
- Ich warte an der Patientenaufnahme. = I am waiting at the admissions desk.
If you used auf:
- Ich warte auf die Patientenaufnahme.
That would literally mean “I am waiting for the admissions department” (as if you’re waiting for it to open, be built, or appear), which is strange in most contexts.
So: use an der to talk about waiting at that location.