Breakdown of Auf der Terrasse steht ein bequemer Gartenstuhl neben dem Tisch.
Questions & Answers about Auf der Terrasse steht ein bequemer Gartenstuhl neben dem Tisch.
Auf is a “two‑way” preposition in German.
- With dative, it describes a location (where something is).
- With accusative, it describes movement/direction (where something is going).
In the sentence, the chair is simply located on the terrace, so we answer the question Wo? (Where?). That requires dative: auf der Terrasse.
If we described movement onto the terrace (answering Wohin? – Where to?), we would use accusative:
- Ich gehe auf die Terrasse. – I go onto the terrace.
- Ich stelle den Stuhl auf die Terrasse. – I put the chair onto the terrace.
Die Terrasse is feminine. In the dative singular, all feminine nouns take the article der:
- Nominative: die Terrasse
- Accusative: die Terrasse
- Dative: der Terrasse
- Genitive: der Terrasse
So auf der Terrasse uses der because auf (in a static, “where?” sense) needs dative, and the feminine dative singular article is der. It does not mean the noun is masculine; it is just the dative form of a feminine noun.
German often specifies how objects are positioned:
- stehen – to stand (upright on a base)
- liegen – to lie (flat)
- sitzen – to sit (usually people/animals, sometimes objects)
A chair normally stands on its legs, so Germans say:
- Ein Gartenstuhl steht auf der Terrasse.
This is more natural than Ein Gartenstuhl ist auf der Terrasse, which is understandable but less idiomatic. Steht gives extra information: the chair is there and it is in a standing position.
The subject is ein bequemer Gartenstuhl.
You can recognize it because:
- It is the thing that “does” the verb: steht (stands).
- It agrees with the verb: steht is 3rd person singular; ein bequemer Gartenstuhl is also 3rd person singular.
- Its form is nominative masculine singular: ein
- bequemer
- Gartenstuhl.
- bequemer
The other parts, auf der Terrasse and neben dem Tisch, are prepositional phrases giving location, not the subject.
Because Gartenstuhl is masculine and in the nominative case (it is the subject).
- Masculine nominative with ein: ein Gartenstuhl
- When you add an adjective in front, the adjective shows gender and case: ein bequemer Gartenstuhl.
Compare:
- Nominative (subject):
- ein bequemer Gartenstuhl steht auf der Terrasse.
- Accusative (direct object):
- Ich kaufe einen bequemen Gartenstuhl.
So ein bequemer Gartenstuhl is correct for a masculine subject; ein bequemen Gartenstuhl would be wrong in nominative.
After ein (and similar words like kein, mein, dein, etc.), adjectives take mixed declension. In the nominative singular, the pattern is:
- Masculine: ein bequemer Gartenstuhl
- Neuter: ein bequemes Sofa
- Feminine: eine bequeme Bank
In our sentence, the noun Gartenstuhl is masculine and is the subject, so we use the masculine nominative ending -er: bequemer.
Very rough rule of thumb for ein / kein / mein + adjective:
- Nominative: masc -er, neut -es, fem -e, plural -en
- Accusative: masc -en, neut -es, fem -e, plural -en
- Dative & genitive: all genders/plural -en
German loves compound nouns: two (or more) nouns are joined into one longer noun.
- Garten (garden) + Stuhl (chair) → Gartenstuhl (garden chair / lawn chair).
Rules here:
- Compounds are usually written as one word.
- The last part of the compound determines the gender and plural.
- Stuhl is masculine → der Gartenstuhl, plural die Gartenstühle.
- All nouns in German are capitalized, so Gartenstuhl starts with a capital G.
Neben is also a two‑way preposition.
- With dative, it describes location: Wo? (Where?)
- With accusative, it describes movement: Wohin? (Where to?)
In the sentence, the chair is already next to the table (no movement), so we use dative:
- neben dem Tisch – next to the table (location)
Der Tisch is masculine:
- Dative singular: dem Tisch
- Accusative singular: den Tisch
If you described movement to a position next to the table, you’d say:
- Ich stelle den Stuhl neben den Tisch. – I put the chair next to the table.
Yes, that word order is perfectly correct:
- Ein bequemer Gartenstuhl steht auf der Terrasse neben dem Tisch.
The basic meaning is the same: a comfortable garden chair is on the terrace, next to the table.
The difference is a slight change in emphasis:
- Auf der Terrasse steht ein bequemer Gartenstuhl …
→ Emphasizes the location first (on the terrace). - Ein bequemer Gartenstuhl steht auf der Terrasse …
→ Emphasizes the chair first.
German word order is flexible: you can move elements around for emphasis, as long as the conjugated verb stays in the second position in main clauses.
In German main clauses, the rule is: the conjugated verb is in second position, but “position” means grammatical slot, not the second word.
Auf der Terrasse is one whole phrase (one slot). Then comes the verb:
- Slot 1: Auf der Terrasse
- Slot 2: steht (verb)
- Rest of the sentence: ein bequemer Gartenstuhl neben dem Tisch
Compare:
- Ein bequemer Gartenstuhl steht auf der Terrasse.
- Auf der Terrasse steht ein bequemer Gartenstuhl.
In both sentences, the verb steht is second, even though the first slot is filled by something different (subject in one case, a prepositional phrase in the other).
Auf der Terrasse vs an der Terrasse:
- auf der Terrasse – on the terrace surface, on top of it (where you sit, put furniture, etc.).
- an der Terrasse – at/by the terrace, next to it, not on it. For example, a flowerbed an der Terrasse would border the terrace.
So for a chair that is standing on the terrace stones/tiles, auf der Terrasse is the natural choice.
Neben dem Tisch vs bei dem Tisch:
- neben dem Tisch – directly next to the table, very close and to the side.
- bei dem Tisch (often contracted to beim Tisch) – more general: at/near/by the table, in the area of the table. Often used more for people:
- Er sitzt beim Tisch. – He is sitting at/by the table.
For the physical position of a chair right beside the table, neben dem Tisch is the most precise.