Wir sitzen am Küchentisch und essen Plätzchen.

We are sitting at the kitchen table and eating cookies.

Breakdown of Wir sitzen am Küchentisch und essen Plätzchen.

• und: and
• essen: to eat
• wir: we
• sitzen: to sit
• am: at the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• das Plätzchen: the cookie
• der Küchentisch: the kitchen table

Questions & Answers about Wir sitzen am Küchentisch und essen Plätzchen.

What exactly does am mean in am Küchentisch?

am is a contraction of an dem.

• an = at / on (vertical or general contact)
• dem = the (dative form of der, masculine singular)

So:

• an dem Küchentisch → am Küchentisch

Literally: “at the kitchen table.”

Why is it am Küchentisch and not im Küchentisch or auf dem Küchentisch?

German uses different prepositions than English in many “location” phrases.

• am Küchentisch (an dem Küchentisch) = at the kitchen table (sitting there, next to it, using it)
• auf dem Küchentisch = on top of the kitchen table (physically on the surface: plates, a cat, crumbs)
• im Küchentisch = in the kitchen table (almost never used; would mean inside a hollow table)

So to describe people sitting by/at a table, German normally says am Tisch, not auf dem Tisch.

What case is Küchentisch in here, and why?

Küchentisch is in the dative case:

• The base noun is der Tisch (masculine, nominative).
• Dative masculine singular: dem Tisch.
• Because an with a location (where something is, not where it is going) takes the dative.

So:

• an + dem Küchentisch → am Küchentisch (dative).

Why is Küchentisch one word and capitalized?

Two separate reasons:

1. Compounding:
   German loves to join nouns together:

   • die Küche (kitchen) + der Tisch (table) → der Küchentisch (kitchen table).

2. Capitalization:
   All nouns in German are capitalized, whether simple or compound.
   So: der Küchentisch, die Küche, der Tisch — all capitalized.

Why don’t we repeat the subject after und (why not Wir sitzen am Küchentisch und wir essen Plätzchen)?

You can say:

• Wir sitzen am Küchentisch und wir essen Plätzchen.

It’s grammatically correct, just a bit heavier. German, like English, usually drops the repeated subject when it’s the same:

• Wir sitzen am Küchentisch und essen Plätzchen.

This is the most natural version in everyday speech and writing. The shared subject wir is understood for both verbs (sitzen and essen).

Why is the verb essen in second position after und?

In main clauses, German normally wants the finite verb in second position (V2 rule).

The original clause is:

• Wir sitzen am Küchentisch … → verb sitzen is in second position.

After und, there is another main clause sharing the same subject:

• (Wir) essen Plätzchen.

The subject wir is omitted but understood, so essen still counts as the second element of that second clause:
(Wir) essen Plätzchen.

Why is it just essen Plätzchen and not essen die Plätzchen or essen Plätzchen auf or something similar?

Two points:

1. No article:
   Plätzchen is plural here. In German, an indefinite plural often has no article:

   • Wir essen Plätzchen. = We are eating (some) cookies.
   • Wir essen die Plätzchen. = We are eating the cookies (specific ones).

2. No extra preposition:
   The verb is simply Plätzchen essen (to eat cookies). The location is already expressed by am Küchentisch, so you don’t add auf or anything after essen.

What exactly are Plätzchen? Is it just the word for cookies?

Plätzchen are small cookies or biscuits, especially associated with Christmas in many areas of Germany.

A few details:

• Grammatically, das Plätzchen is neuter.
• The singular and plural look the same:
  • singular: das Plätzchen (one little cookie)
  • plural: die Plätzchen (several cookies)
• The ending -chen is a diminutive, roughly “little X.”

General “cookies/biscuits” can also be called Kekse (der Keks / die Kekse). Plätzchen often suggests homemade, often Christmassy cookies, but usage varies regionally.

Why is it Wir sitzen and not something like Wir sind sitzen for “we are sitting”?

German does not use sein + verb to form a general present tense like English.

Instead:

• Wir sitzen = we sit / we are sitting
• Wir essen = we eat / we are eating

German simple present covers both English simple present and English present progressive. You don’t say:

• ✗ Wir sind sitzen
• ✗ Wir sind essen

Those are ungrammatical. Just use the plain verb in the present tense.

If German has no “-ing” form, how do I make it clear that it’s happening right now?

Context usually makes it clear, but you can add time expressions:

• Wir sitzen gerade am Küchentisch und essen Plätzchen.
  (gerade = right now / at the moment)
• Wir sitzen jetzt am Küchentisch und essen Plätzchen.

So:

• Without gerade/jetzt: could mean a general habit or right now.
• With gerade/jetzt: clearly right now.

What’s the difference between sitzen and setzen (sich) in this context?

They describe state vs movement:

• sitzen = to be sitting (state)
  • Wir sitzen am Küchentisch. = We are in a sitting position at the table.
• (sich) setzen = to sit down (movement into that state)
  • Wir setzen uns an den Küchentisch. = We sit down at the kitchen table.

In your sentence you’re describing the state (already sitting), so sitzen is correct.

Should there be a comma before und in this sentence?

No comma is needed:

• Wir sitzen am Küchentisch und essen Plätzchen.

You generally do not put a comma before und when it simply connects two short main clauses with the same subject, like here. The version with a comma:

• ✗ Wir sitzen am Küchentisch, und essen Plätzchen.

is not standard in this simple sentence.